Enigmatic Soul
by ricosuave111
Summary: Her flock is a new breed of hybrid, a natural breed that has existed in power for thousands of years, But when she discovers the truth about her parents and her flock, will they be able to survive a parallel universe? All OCC's, Description is horrible.
1. Chapter 1

**So my first few chapters are super short and really lame, but they will get better! I super promise.**

PROLOGUE  
My lungs burned, feet numb from pounding the ground for hours. The sound of my flock's heavy breathing behind me, my own shouts commanding them on, driving them to whatever was behind us. We tore through the woods, cut, scraped, bleeding, and half dead. Pushing them on to what I only hoped was the way there. Anywhere. The faces of my flock burned into the back of my skull, my brother, best friends, comrades, bodyguards. Whatever you want to call them. My name is Leah Axelson. Look to the sky, and look for me, if you're fast enough.  
-Leah

Chapter 1-Leah P.O.V.  
The grit and dirt from the window ledges on the outside of the hospital. No matter how much my hands were cut up and bleeding. I was breaking Adam out.

The wind threw an angry gust at my left side, almost ripping me off the edge of the windows; I tucked my speckled wings tighter against my spine and continued up the steep wall of windows. I reached the eleventh story and found Adams' window.

I felt my adrenaline spike in my blood when I pried my knife out of the edge of the old window frame. I popped my head over the flowerless box of dirt and the shades were drawn. I pulled myself up onto the window box, hoping it wouldn't snap. I dug the blade of my knife into the wood behind the door latch and ripped off the hinge, smiling evilly at the snapping noise of the wood. I pushed up the window, wincing at the rough scraping of the wood against metal. Gripping the blade of my knife tighter, I silently slipped down between the two curtains, only to find the room blank and empty.


	2. Fillereww

Chapter 2-Leah P.O.V

"How did they move him so fast! I was just here yesterday!" I screamed in my head as I overturned a perfect white hospital bed.

"Calm down, you know where they would have taken him." oh yeah, the one place I would never go back.

"Oh no, oh HELL no! First me, now Adam? Oh no, what about the rest of my flock? If they give them wings... oh crap! I raced back to the window and leaped out back into the September night. Carefully snapping out my thirteen-foot wingspan, I raced to the one place I knew they would take Adam.

Base camp was about 30 miles away and I had to get there fast. I sharply angled my wings up and began pumping my wings upward, unhinging my shoulder blades for better movement. Above the clouds was windless and clear, only it was kinda lame that there was practically no air, thank you advanced lungs. Ripping across the dark sky, my hair blowing back from my face.

Carlton really needs to stop kidnapping my family. Eventually I folded my wings and dropped back through the wet, cold clouds. I saw the small top level of base camp in the green hills. I continued to lose altitude quickly, and about 100 feet from the ground, snapped open my wings and hit the ground, and didn't stop running. They probably knew I was here, and that definitely took away some of my time. I paused to relocate the base when I felt a sharp prick in my right arm, I panicked silently and started running through the trees, slowly my arm went numb, my shoulder, the bleak numbness spreading all over my body until I began to lose consciousness.

The last thing I remember seeing was a light, a blue light.


	3. New and familiar

Chapter 3-Leah P.O.V

I sat up sharply, putting my hand to my head, I felt like my brain had split open, yay. As the world came into focus, the four familiar figures came into focus.

"Sorry guys, I guess I didn't make it."

"Guess not Lee." The silky voice could have taken away my headache if I wasn't at base. Sage scooted closer to me, my senses slowly returning, I saw the same battered, beautiful faces, broken walls, the smell of cleaners, blood, fear, the sound of breathing, angry voices in the distance, home sweet home. I turned to Adam,

"What happened to you? The hospital?" the outline of his head shaking at me in the darkness.

"It was a trap, they faked me sick, knocked me out, and hauled me back here." I sighed. Belle's light voice sounded from a darker corner of the empty room,

"Lee, do you know what's going to happen to us?" Crap, I was hoping she wouldn't ask that.

"Yeah, its not gonna be pretty." Her hazel eyes widened, and Kyle turned towards me,

"What will they do, Lee?" I took a deep breath,

"They're going to finish infusing us with avian DNA, they already did to me." I stood up and shook out my patterned wings, they seemed to glow in the dark room.

"Wow", Belle's voice hung in the cold air,

"so we're going to be completed?"

"Yup."

"Kinda cool and freaky at the same time." The silence that settled over the room left a ringing in my ears. Then there were light footsteps, all of our heads turned towards it. A piece of the wall split away, revealing a doorway, and my favorite person, Carlton.

"Leah, did you really think you could escape?" I clenched my jaw and resisted the urge to rip his throat out. Right as he said that, I heard the sound of a fist colliding with someones face. I stood and whirled to see that Kyle had smashed some nurse in the face when she tried to put his wrist in some iron cuff and chain him to the floor, huh, I almost felt bad for her. She was kneeling on the floor, her probably broken nose bleeding like a river down her hand.

"What the HELL are you trying to pull!" Kyle screamed at Carlton, who answered in a cool tone,

"You will find out, today." I threw myself at him, fist recoiled to blow his ugly, sneering face to bits. Same blue light, ah crap.


	4. Giant white doom space

Chapter 4-Leah P.O.V

Kneeling on a cold, iron platform, titanium wrist cuffs chained to the ground, I was looking around the room desperately for my flock. All I saw were five of what looked like bird person sized garage doors and runners, my platform was on one of the sets of runners in front of the doors, oh no,nononononono, where was my flock!

I leaped to my feet and ran forward pulling at the chains, the veins in my arms popping out, I felt an electric shock pick me up and blast me back to the ground. The mysterious blue light followed, huh, guess I'm getting immune to the latest bird zapper. Slowly, one of the doors to my right opened, an iron platform rolled slowly into the long room, with Kyle chained down to the bed with the same chains as me, he gasped as he regained consciousness and arched his back, a look of horror on his face, for nineteen, he was dealing with wings pretty well.

"What happened," I demanded, scrambling to sit up with the extra weight of my wings, desperate for answers.

"Turns out we had wings growing under our skin the whole time, explaining the headaches, blackouts, and strength." I looked past his battered face, his white wings with black tips, lying limply on the platform behind him, must have been a fourteen foot wingspan.

"Did they tell you what kind of wings you have?" I asked, trying to brighten the conversation, he replied

"White hawk, what about you again?"

"Peregrine falcon." Fastest bird in the world, I wondered what base was going to do with me once I perfected flying. Sage rolled in, followed by Adam and Bella, all with limp wings hanging behind them.

"Report." I commanded from the middle of the long, white, sterile room. Adam was the first to state species,

"Black falcon," his inky black wings matched his dark hair.

"Snowy owl, quiet as heck" Sages soft voice from across the room, Sages recovery system sent scabs over the tears in her skin, that you could see even through her shredded jacket. She was already standing, exploring the new gift in her massive fourteen foot wingspan, bringing her wings up, flapping them hard down to raise her momentarily of the ground.

"Red tailed hawk" Belle's wings were folded neatly behind her back; she didn't seem to be experiencing much pain at all. My mind wandered back to the computer in the hospital, what were they talking about with the seven hybrids when there were only five of us? It didn't make sense. Maybe there was another wing where the base was making more or a different type of mutant.

Slowly the sound of gears grinding grew louder and all five of our platforms moved back, fast, through dark tunnels, none of us made a sound. Finally we sped through a doorway and halted to a stop. The chains on our ankles and wrists popped open, we slowly stood up, scanning a massive white padded room. It was like, the size of a parking garage, with some ledges here and there, with huge vents everywhere, and stick another three parking garages on top of it, that's about how tall it was. Nice sized for a bunch of Avians. I was the only one who actually knew how to fly, and took a running start, rising into the air, that was when I realized how sore I really was,

"Umm...Lee?" Kyle's voice piped below me,

"mind showing us how to use the, um, wings?" I chuckled and circled back down to the ground, or should I say, the floor, and re-hinged my shoulder blades.

"Try getting all the blood off your feathers," I said, combing my fingers through Kyle's snowy white wings, he started shaking and cried out in laughter,

"Oh my gosh that tickles!" he continued laughing as I tackled him and proceeded to try to get the blood out of his feathers. The others helped each other clean their wings until they were virtually blood free. Adam shook off his black wings and opened them all the way out, they almost looked purple in the artificial light. He folded them back up and took a running start like I did, snapping his wings open right in front of a vent, and lifted clumsily into the air, struggling to hold his legs straight. Turns out the rest of the flock were as clumsy as Adam, but in almost no time at (as in a few hours) all they had all mastered gliding, rising, and falling gracefully. It was a dream, for the time that it lasted, after a while, a circular piece of the floor slid away, we flew quickly up to a ledge, and some freaky robot thingy that looked like it had escaped from Transformers came up through the floor, so base wanted to see what we could do, lets show em' what we got!

I shot up into the air, turned, folded my wings, and rocketed down towards it. Man, being three percent falcon really helped with the whole flying thing. I landed hard on the ground and immediately went on attack mode, flipping through the air, landing parallel to the robot, kicking it hard in what resembled a head, right when it took a jerky but fast punch to my stomach, then recoiled as if being restricted. Huh, maybe that's because Sage and Adam got in on the action, Sage holding it in a deadlock, and finally, using her gift of massive strength, ripping its iron head from its shoulders, ouch.

Adam walked forward and began to dismantle the Transformer thing, taking wires, bolts, pieces of metal, fans, lights, what looked like razor and spike decorations, weird. He handed some stuff to me the others to Sage, and we flew up to one of the higher, wider ledges, the rest of my flock flew over.

"If that isn't going to be an easy fight, getting out of here should be a breeze!" Kyle smirked, blue eyes snapping.

"Shut up and build a bomb," Adam said blandly, I shot him a death glare. Adam sorted through wires, batteries, and other crap I didn't know, and constructed what I'm guessing was a target bomb, exciting. Belle yawned, stood, and walked to the end if the wide white platform, opened her wings, and tipped off the edge, silently, long blonde hair streaming behind her. Kyle's head turned her way, I smirked and punched him in the shoulder, and he blushed. When Belle came back to the ledge, she looked a little stunned,

"Um, Leah, this had your name on it..." she threw a long plastic box at my head. I swiped it out of the air, tearing at the black electric tape that bound it closed, I lifted the cover on the box, and let out a ragged breath.


	5. Weapons

Chapter 5-Leah P.O.V

I lifted the bow out if the box, it was light, with two long blades on the top and bottom of it. Under the bows sheet, there was a quiver of arrows, but instead of a shoulder strap, this one fastened around my waist, and around my wing and shoulder, it fit perfectly.

"Wow" I breathed, my eyes widening at every feature, every detail, but why would the base give me these? I wondered to myself. I turned back to my flock,

"What's the point?" Kyle pointed behind me, I turned towards where he was pointing, circular panels turned to reveal, targets, cool! I pulled one of the red feathered arrows from my sheath and loaded it on a thick curve in the metal of the bow, drawing back the bow, I aimed at the nearest target, the pull of the bowstring felt alive in my fingers, like it was made for me alone, which it probably was. I released the arrow; it pierced the second to the center ring on the target.

"Not bad Lee" Adam said from behind me,

"Looks like they sent us some toys too." Adam swooped down to the garage door that we first appeared through when we came to the room. He immediately picked up a long, slender case that had his name printed in it in bold italics, there were several more boxes lined up neatly in a row, the rest of the flock and I flew down to were Adam was standing.

Sage had a massive, heavy box that held one heck of an impressive buster sword. Belle had two boxes, each containing a short sword with silver handles. Adam had on long, thin box, he opened it revealing a double bladed sword with two blades on each end on the long leather bound handle in the middle. Kyle had a long box, containing a katana with a gold weaved handle, along with a belt of throwing knives, he smirked at Adam, the edges of his lips smiling. Underneath all of the weapons, there was some type of case or sheath. Sage had a long leather sheath that strapped onto her shoulders and ran down her back between her wings. Belle had a waist clip like mine that held her two swords on the right side of the belt. Kyle had an over the shoulder strap just like Sages, just smaller. There was one box without a name, on it, but when we opened the box, the handle had the name,

"Drew" imprinted into the tough black leather, I kept it with me, and maybe this "Drew" was one of the other hybrids.

With our weapons in place, shreds of boxes littered all over the floor, we flew up to one of the higher ledges, the temperature was steadily dropping and it was colder near the vents.

We curled up like puppies against the wall, just like we had done for our whole lives.


	6. Escape Plan

Chapter 6-Leah P.O.V

The days we spent in the room were almost as bad as when we were back in the labs. We were tested almost every day with some freaky experiment; most were pretty easy when we all were there, others not so much.

Sometimes they would catch us in cages, leaving one of us out to fight some new experiment they concocted. The worst ones were the big cat hybrids, they had claws and fangs, ready to shred us to pieces. We always made it out alive, having slaughtered our enemies behind us. Their bodies were usually collected in the morning.

Our new-found weaponry gave us a big advantage over many of our attackers. Once when a nurse appeared to stitch a deep gash in Sages arm, she freaked, hitting the nurse in the stomach with the butt of her sword and flew up to a ledge. That was the last time we saw a nurse.

At night we plotted ways to get out, we settled on taking out one of the smaller vents, crawling through the shaft till we found the super computer for the lab, finding out what was going on, possibly finding other hybrids like us, then getting our butts out of here and back home.

"When do we do it?" Belle could hardly sit still.

"Tonight." The icy words hung in the air as Adam said them.

"No, I'm the leader, I make the choice, we go tomorrow, stock up on food, if we leave tonight, we'll be hungry if we don't make it home by morning." Adam sank back, defeated.


	7. Actual Escape

Chapter 7-Leah P.O.V

All of us turned out heads to him at once,

"What?" Belle squeaked, shocked. He looked sheepish.

"Before they brought me here, we dated, when they brought me here when I was 15, I sometimes talked to her when she walked past my cage, after a while, actually about a week ago, I got wings, but mine were growing under my skin for years before I was brought to base, I was injected when I was 10, Essie's were grafted onto her shoulder blades, so technically they're fake, also clumsy and painful, she complains about them a lot."

"Wow" I was shocked, how could he possibly be attracted to her?

"One more thing," I turned to him, he looked angry,

"Her dad is Carlton."

"Holy mole!" That changes the scale a bit! That was a new low for Carlton, turning his kid into a mutant? Wow, great parenting, Carl. Kyle started printing some sheets, yeah, the super computer has a printer, pretty stupid, huh? That was when we heard an alarm,

"Op, time to go!" I motioned my flock to the door, dragging Drew by the wrist. We sprinted down halls and around corners until the glow of an exit door ahead of us glowed like a beacon in the night. Adam shoved Kyle forward and they threw something over their shoulders. Sage, instead of pushing the door open, smashed through it with her buster sword, taking off into the night, along with the rest on my flock.

Drew didn't know how to fly, so we pretty much dragged him off the ground, oh, about 200 feet in the air, and dropped him, so he picked up on flying pretty fast.

"Dude, we should fly in a triangle!" Kyle piped up from in front of me,

"Lee, you go in front, your the leader." I beat my wings up to the front of the triangle, free at last! and this time we were all together. I took the best breath of fresh air that I think I ever had, letting the outside air fill up my air sacs. The orange and blue lights of the city burning behind us, we turned northeast, a low booming and heat wave washed over us. I hovered, turning to see the top floor of base enveloped in fire and smoke. I folded my arms and heard Adam and Kyle hoot and high five behind my back. I smiled to myself and mumbled to Belle, "Maybe that will keep Carlton off our trail for a while." She nodded and turned, flying swiftly back towards montana. I turned after her , dragging Drew behind me and whacking Adam in the face with my wing.


	8. homefiller chapter

Chapter 8-Leah P.O.V

We flew back to the outskirts of Las Vegas after only what felt like seconds. And eventually, after about five long hours, we landed in the fabulous Montana! Our old house stood out with its driveway lights burning faintly. The house was incredibly modern, with lots of additions for every time one of us moved in, so there were 5 bedrooms and what is called an office, but we never use it, ever.

We landed in the yard, it was pretty dark, thank goodness for the raptor vision. I turned to Adam, who was already struggling to get the turtle hide-a-key open, you would think, with all the strength and stuff that he would at least be able to open a little rubber turtle, but noooo.

He eventually got it open and had unlocked the door, sticking his head in just in case there were any of the cat hybrids in there, which we had picked up the habit of calling jackals. He creeped warily in, flicking on lights as we all poured into the kitchen, eating whatever food we could find.

Drew pretty much stayed out of the way, standing awkwardly off to the side. I motioned him over, his face brightened and he slowly made his way over, I handed him a chicken quesadilla plate that I heated up in the microwave. Drew and I walked into the sitting room, cramming our mouths with the quesadilla's like we hadn't eaten in a month. Which for the most part was literal. I looked up and gave him one of my rare smiles,

"So, where do you live?"

"Nowhere, everywhere, the lab." I was slightly taken back, how long had he been in the lab? Obviously a long time, I jumped to conclusions,

"Well do you want to stay here?" he stopped with his mouth hanging open, hand poised with a quesadilla in his hand,

"What?" he sounded shocked, a bit taken back,

"We have an extra room we could clear out for you, its not much smaller than anybody Else's, I mean you don't have to..." I was at a loss of words, his eyes were glued to me, I actually felt nervous.

"Sure, that would be great." he smiled, and I felt like a million butterflies were burning my stomach. Whoopdedo. I walked out of the room, back to the kitchen, where Sage was flipping a card around the counter top.

"What's that?"

"Oh nothing, just Carlton's CREDIT CARD! And his wallet, not as cool."

"Wha-?"

"I snuck it out of his pocket while you were freeing mister tall, dark and handsome." She wiggled her eyebrows at me, I just rolled my eyes. Adam snatched it from the counter;

"Maybe we should get as much money from this as we can, get some sweet stuff before Carl cancels the card." I couldn't help but smile at him,

"Can do bruddah." We all stacked knuckles and tapped them. This time, we would keep our freedom.


	9. walks and pasts

Chapter 9-Leah P.O.V

We weren't used to sleeping outside of a pile, so last night was really, really long. And I'm pretty sure I had a few feathery bedbugs last night named MIRABELLE AND SAGE. I didn't mind much though, except I think Belle is very cuddly and I think I'm very not cuddly, heck that girl even cuddles in her SLEEP. Wait, why am I talking about this? Adam stumbled into my room, I groaned and looked at my alarm clock, it was 3:14 in the freaking morning.

"What do you want?" I growled at him, flicking on my lamp, Sage rolled over on my foot.

"Just seeing if there would be any space for your friendly neighborhood brethren, guess not. That would be rather awkward." I raised my eyebrow at him as his black eyes flicked over to Sage, who was curled up in a ball, her bright red curly hair splayed out behind her head. I tried not to roll my eyes, everyone in the flock knew that Adam liked Sage, and Sage liked Adam, it was cute, ya know, the scary dark guy and the happy curly ginger? Yeah, cute. Excuse me if I barf from saying cute twice.

After the whole awkward conversation, Adam and I ended up walking down the street holding hands, nothing weird, trust me. Adam raised me, since I was born, and our mother was mysteriously found poisoned when I was six and Adam was eight, he acted like my father, my guardian. Even before we were brought to the Base, he was always like my dad, he brought me up, taught me every thing I knew about living.

We lived on the run, all I remember were tall men from the base in leather jackets chasing us in the dark, huge tranquilizer darts whizzing past our heads, for a long time we lived like this. Then they caught us, all six of us, even Drew. As I now remember, they kept us in cages that were built into a wall, like a long hall, we were separated only by thin wire. We were only allowed to run around in a sterilized room for twenty minutes every day.

Those were the nights when I would curl up against the wires that separated me from Adam, I would push my hand between the wires, and we would sleep with our hands clasped so that they couldn't take one of us without the other one knowing and fight for them. And one day the lab just, let us go, Starved and emaciated, in the middle of the woods.

The memories made me cling to Adams hand harder, the cold air whipped my face, blew the feathers on my wings, I pulled them tighter against my spine. The road was empty,

"So Lee, what do you think of the new guy," Adam never talked much, but around me, that was a different story.

"He seems...like he wants to get away from us. I think he knows more than he's letting on." Adam smiled at me, only the flock knew that he was telepathic, it was one of the major ways we would communicate in the Base.

"I could find out." Adams offer was tempting,

"We'll know when you get in range." Adam smirked at me; we turned and walked back towards the house. About fifty feet away,

"Try now Adam," he turned towards Drew's' window,

"He's got lots of really big jumbles in there, he, um, uh, he really likes you," he smirked at me and sat down in the grass, I rolled my eyes,

"Just find out what's going on." Adam turned back,

"he wants to leave, he knows they, whoever they are, they're coming for him, he wants to give himself up so they wont get us." His brow was furrowed, his pale grey eyes stood out violently under his dark hair. I couldn't tell that Drew was hiding all this under those black eyes.

"Don't look so stressed Lee, you would think that the whole flocks fate were resting on your shoulders. I realized I was frowning, and tried to smooth it out, Adam laughed at me. I snuggled into his side, he smoothed my wavy hair, taking small strands of it, braiding it taking it back out again,

"What are we going to do Adam?"

"Well you're the leader, that's your choice." I frowned and got up, the sun was burning over the horizon,

"Well being the leader I say get your fat butt in my kitchen and make me foods!"

"Make your own food!"

"Do you want me to poison myself?"

"Sometimes..."

"Hey! You're supposed to be my brother!"

"Gah!" he yelled and slung me over his shoulder, and ran into the house, every time he took a step, I hit my nose on his black wings,

"phew, Adam do you ever shower?" Adam sniffed my butt,

"Adam is that really necessary?" he mimicked my voice,

"eww, Leah do you ever shower?" I whacked his shoulder, "Shut up, and yes, I do." he set me down on the floor when Belle walked in, Sage was right behind her, her moppy red hair tied up in a messy bun. Adam turned to Sage,

"Good morning, Sunshine," he smiled like a dope at her, and She blushed and flicked his nose.


	10. Filler, again

Chapter 10-Drew P.O.V

The image of Essie plunging a long, wickedly curving knife into Leah's stomach, her eyes rolling back into her head as they closed.

I sat up sharply, the nightmare slipping away. I couldn't stay here for long, I couldn't let the others get caught, last night when talking with Kyle, he had said I was one of the flock, what did he mean? If I was, what would Essie do to them, call out the feline hybrids, to tear us apart?

Back at base, they would release chimpanzees around the property, teaching the cats to hunt and kill, the terrified screams and howls of the chimps still echo in my head. I rubbed my temples, wishing that these memories would go away. There were voices out side, I listened, Leah and...Adam? Right, her brother.

They knew what I was thinking, discussing it, analyzing it. How did they know? I swung my legs over the edge of the couch in my new room. I hadn't slept in they bed they made up for me, I was too tired to walk across the room.

I stood up, pulled on my pants and my black hoodie over my grey V-neck. There was a full-length mirror hanging on the door, I walked over to it, examining what I looked like, running my fingers through my black hair, an ugly bruise on my forehead and jaw. I turned around, examining my cream wings, brown at the joints and tips. They were shiny, long, and light, with trails of blood and scrapes with missing feathers. I looked out the window, Leah and Adam were gone, I heard the front door slam and someone shout,

"Eww Leah, do you ever shower?" in a gay voice, I choked a laugh down. I heard multiple voices in the kitchen, I went in there, every one else was to. I spotted Kyle, and walked over to him, we talked last night, he was cool.

He had a lot of the same interests I did, video games, flying (duh), eating, and girls. He likes Belle, I mean, yeah, she's cute, but she had too much energy, like Kyle. When he brought up Leah, I think I must have turned purple, because he started laughing and accusing, pretty much making up for all the years we should have been friends.

He showed me his Kitana, and collection of knives, I showed him my plain black handled long sword, He liked the lightweight of mine, I liked all his knives. He then gave me an evil look, next thing I know, were quietly tiptoeing up a spiral staircase, to a long hall with a black trunk at the end, there was only one door. Kyle ran down the hall and opened it. We peered inside, there was a black bow with two long blades on either end, next to it, was a sheath full of red feathered arrows, they were awesome. I slid one out of the leather sheath, "Leah," her name was carved into the pale wood of the arrow.

I was caught out of my daze when Leah came and stood next to me, leaning against the counter. Kyle nudged my elbow, I ignored him.

"So, how are you?" Yeah I know, worst cheesy way to start a conversation,

"Tired, defiantly tired and sore." she replied, I picked up a faint British accent, she had a pretty voice.

"I think we all are." She nodded and smiled, her blue-grey eyes flashed. Her dark grey eyeliner made her eyes look long, even more catlike. Sage set a huge plate of pancakes on the counter, everybody sat down, passing the plate down the line, taking at least 6 or 7 pancakes each, even Leah, Essie would have declined, saying she needed to "Stay thin." I inwardly chuckled. Fueling up on Sages' buttery, light pancakes, and still getting seconds.


	11. arguments

Chapter 11-Leah P.O.V

The wind pulled my hair back from my face as I beat my wings, rapidly gaining straight up leverage. I sighed and pulled in my wings, dropping from the sky, forcing my body to relax, turning over so I was plummeting headfirst towards the ground, my eyes closed. I opened my eyes, and slowly opened my wings, waiting for the quick catch of air that would push me back up into the sky.

I absolutely loved flying, and the cold November air was fresh, even up high. I wondered what it was like to fly in warm air. I leveled myself, and started pouring on the speed, rocketing forward, feeling like Superman. I turned, my body staying in place, just spinning, my wings rotating around me. The world looked like it was flipping, I laughed, and surged above the wet clouds, almost slamming into Drew.

"Ohmygoshsorry!" I sputtered, he laughed,

"Fancy seeing you up here," he smiled at me, his black eyes almost seemed to smile.

"Great day for flying, yeah?" I flapped once to catch up to him, flying parallel to him. He turned towards me suddenly serious,

"I heard you and Adam talking about me this morning." I frowned,

"Yeah, about that-"

"Nothing about that." I was shocked at how angry he was,

"Why do you want to leave?" I spat out the question, his anger was making me angry.

"None of your business."

"Fine!" I curled my back, and shot down through the clouds, leaving Drew behind. I heard his voice behind me. I ignored him, leaving him farther and farther behind, thank goodness for the speed. I landed in the front yard, taking a few steps before stopping. I sat down in the grass, and for probably the second time in my life, cried. Was Adam right? Did I really like him? I shuttered, wondering what I had done, I ran my hands through my hair, frustrated. I waited on the grass for him to come back, even until late that night, he didn't come. I was going to go find him, alone.


	12. Essie

Chapter 12-Drew P.O.V

I had called out after her; she had disappeared almost instantly into the clouds. Immediately I stopped and hovered, why had I done that! I couldn't go back, to face those sharp blue eyes, how they had clouded over before she snarled,

"Fine!" I mentally slapped my self. I stretched out my wings to their full length of 14 feet, and glided until I saw woods on the fringe of a town I didn't recognize. Then remembered, the flock flew over Vegas, and lived in Montana. I gently floated down into the woods, landing on the thicker lower branches of a pine. It was getting dark, but I wasn't cold, I think I even slept for a few hours, that is, until I heard branches snapping bellow me. I was instantly on alert, ready to either tear someone to shreds, or if it was any one from the flock, say sorry and hope they don't kick my but back to base. I peered over the branches, a blonde blur disappeared under me.

"Essie?"

"Drew, what are you doing in a tree?" she sounded annoyed. I dropped down, landing in front of her, a scowl on her face made me rethink thoughts of reconciliation.

"What were you thinking! Running away with them! Huh? That was stupid. You could have gotten killed!" She was screaming at me now, I leaned against the tree trunk, listening to her rant at me. I eventually got tired of hearing her voice screaming, and took her hand, that made her shut up. We walked through the woods, talking about the outside world, she seemed to be trying to convince me how horrible the flock were, and how their leader, meaning Leah, needs to be destroyed.

The whole time I felt like we were being watched. It's not really a good feeling. There was a rustling in the canopy of the woods, and Leah dropped down through the canopy, she saw Essie and a look of pure loathing bloomed on her face, I cringed, taking a step back, Essie dropped my hand. Leah's lip curled, and she launched herself at Essie, using her momentum to slam her knee into Essie's' stomach, the sound of her breath escaping her lips was harsh as she was knocked to the ground. Leah's bow was off her shoulder and she pulled back an arrow and aimed it at Essie's' face, her head turned to me,

"What are you doing?"

"I can't stay with your flock,"

"Why not? You belong with us, you know it!"

"Maybe I don't want to be a part of your flock." I instantly regretted what I said, she looked stunned, at that very moment, Essie leaped back up, delivering a hard side kick to Leah's chest, she stumbled back about ten steps, she straitened up, looked from me, to Essie, to me again, I broke out in cold sweats. Her wings rippled in the wind between the tree, next second, she was gone, leaving the sound of her impossibiliy;y fast footsteps behind. Essie kicked a tree angrily, jamming her thumb on the pager that was clipped to her ear and hissed into the receiver

"Why the hell did you give her that falcon and the speed! What do you give me? Nothing! Just painful clumsy wings!" words from the other end,

"A gift? Ha! You mean a curse!" She let her finger fall away from the receiver's button, cutting of Carlton's voice on the other end, she turned to me, her eyes narrowed,

"This is all your fault." She said flatly, then she was on me like a bear, trying to rip my heart out, or at least break a few of ribs.


	13. wolf point and body dents

Chapter 13-Leah P.O.V

I sprinted through the woods, faster than an Olympic sprinter. I had just lost an almost piece of my flock, and we were going to gain him back. I came to a clearing, and leaped into the air, unhinging my shoulder blades, and beating my wings with clean, hard strokes, climbing fast into the sky. I raced home. we had some extreme planning to do.

Right after I told everyone what had happened, of course they were shocked, but Kyle looked the worst, he had a friend and now that friend was gone, with Essie, princess of Wal-Mart. His face was pale, but his expression was angry, betrayed, his watery blue eyes filled with rage,

"Come on, what are we waiting for?" He stormed for the balcony, Belle followed him, I glanced to Adam, he stood up, Sage and I followed. We stood on the balcony, it was getting dark, I stood on the railing,

"Here we come Drew." I thought mentally. I opened my wings, and in one leap, we all lifted up into the sky in our triangle, with Adam and Belle to my right, and Kyle and Sage to my left.

We flew southeast to wolf point, the nearest possible town. I dropped down to the streets, while the rest of my flock stayed up high, so they only appeared to be tiny dots in the dark sky. I turned on my imaginary little mutant radar, because finding Essie would be a sure fire way to find Drew.

I eventually caught the sound of her voice, about three streets down, I picked up the pace, and eventually I found them, my converse pattered on the pavement. I planted my feet, my fingers traced the scars on the back of my palms.

"Hey Drew." I barely whispered. Drew looked over Essies' shoulder at me, he knew I was there now, he couldn't protect his dark angel now, I was locked in. I tapped the receiver on my earpiece, that we bought shamelessly with Carlton's card,

"Belle, you there?"

"Yup, did you find her?"

"Mhm, wait for isolation, then call in Adam."

"Got it." The receiver clicked off, I looked up and saw a tiny series of spots in the sky, my flock was in position. I turned my gaze towards the beautiful guy, with that slug Essie clinging to him, wrawr.

They turned down an empty road, I pulled my bow of my shoulder and silently notched an arrow, she was mine now, I would destroy her. I tapped the receiver,

"Call down Adam." Adam streaked out of the sky, catching Essie in a headlock, pulling back hard, choking her. Drew lashed out and punched Adams' sharp jawline, Adam flinched, soundless, his iron grip still choking Essie. Kyle had dropped down, and brought down two fists down on the back of Essie's blonde head, knocking her out, I chuckled, man, we were LETHAL. Adam released her, and she fell to the ground in a crumpled mess, so much for,

"You angels really think you can defeat me?" I could almost hear her nasal voice. Drew had shoved Kyle off balance, he stumbled, and delivered three hard kicks to Kyle's ribs, bam bam bam, I heard a crack, Kyle's face twisted, he was confused and hurt. Kyle pulled himself off the ground and shot up into the air, clutching his side. I aimed, and released my arrow, and saw it pierce Drew's shoulder, and he ripped it back out. I growled and walked towards him,

"What are you doing Leah? Accept that I don't want to be with your flock anymore." The words stung, but I kept my face stiff,

"Look at her, she's one of them!" I pointed and nodded to Adam, he slit the back of her jacket, her cloudy brown wings tumbled out, Drew's face went blank,

"They want you Drew, we're trying to protect you, stay, please!" I begged, which I never did, his face still blank, he was staring at Essie's crumpled body, turned towards me, opened his 14 foot wings, in one beat he took off into the sky, he was going to run.

"Adam! Come on!" I shot up, only to notice what was coming down from the sky, panther hybrids, about twenty, Drew was defenseless. I passed him, beating my wings to gain height, the powerful muscles in my back flexed and recoiled, Sage dropped down next to me,

"Lets kick it!" Kyle and Belle were coming in from the sides of the pack of jackals, I saw the faint glint of Bella's swords, and we charged into the group, Sage swung her massive buster sword, chopping up about five cats who shrieked and crashed down to the ground. I turned, Drew was making his way towards our house where I had his sword. "Drop! Now!" I folded my wings as the rest of the jackals exploded and burned from Adams firebomb. Then I caught a glint, trailing Drew was a black helicopter, the same ones that shot at us in base! Panicked, I shot out across the sky, get there before them! I streaked across the sky, leaving my sound behind, I slammed into the helicopter, with my arms in an x, the jolt shocked me, makign my neck whip sideways in a way that neck should not be whipped. The helicopter circled, the blades still spinning put so much pressure on my wings, I righted my self, slamming into the bottom of the chopper, it started firing at me, I did a quick change, I had to shoot the pilot. I swerved to the front of the chopper, locating where he was, I swerved to the back of the chopper, pulling my bow of my shoulder, automatically loading an arrow, the helicopter turned to face me, I drew my bow and shot, straight through the windshield of the chopper, and into the pilots chest. I gasped a breath as the chopper fell out of the sky. I turned and flew back to the house, hoping Drew would be there.

Sure enough he was, sitting at the kitchen table, acting like nothing had happened, he even had his sword resting on his knee. I looked down at my arms, the veins stood out sharply under my skin, I walked over to the sink, rinsing water on my arms, hoping it would relax the veins.

"Why did you come back for me? Even when I told you I didn't want your flock." Drew asked, I felt his eyes digging into my back.

"You think I'm just going to let them take you?"

"You could, if you really wanted to..."

"Yeah well that wasn't really an option."

"Why not?" I paused, not expecting the question.

"It just wasn't, okay?"

"You were worried about what they would do to me weren't you." I heard him stand up behind me, I turned to face him.

"That doesn't matter." I practically hissed at him, his black eyes smirked at me. He walked towards me, I tensed up, knowing my face would turn red if he was in a five-foot radius of me, I wasn't going to be nice to him any time soon.

"You like me Leah, I know you do." I felt my face turn red,

"Shut up" Wow, of all the word and phrase choices...

"Like it would matter to you, having that sick twisted mutant hanging off you sure made you pretty happy." I was practically snarling, Drew frowned, defeated, silent. I turned on my heel and marched up to my room, He shouted after me, "I know you looovvveee meee!" I turned on my heel and yelled as loud as I could towards the kitchen,

"FUCK YOU!"

After a while I heard the balcony doors slam downstairs, the soft patter of four familiar sets of feet, I smiled and lay down, and probably slept for about fifteen hours.

I woke up with an over excited blonde sitting at the foot of my bed, when Belle saw I was awake she started belting

"HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU, HAPPY BIRTHDAY DEAR LEAH, HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU!" I rubbed my eyes trying to figure what was going on, then I remembered, today was January 10th, my birthday. When Belles song was done, the rest of my flock piled into my room, Adam scooping me put of bed, blankets and all, and ran down my spiral staircase. Lets just say that being ran down the twisty stairs by a never-excited-but-now-excited child is never fun, its terrifying. He ran me straight into the garage, with the lights off, also pretty scary, because he papered the widows so everything was pitch black. The rest of the flock piled into the garage behind me, and someone closed the door behind us. We sat there awkwardly until I popped the question,

"Well, now what?" I heard a giggle and the lights flicked on, practically blinding me, then came the shock. In the middle of the room, there was a black, oddly shaped form,

"Go on." Adams familiar voice urged me on, I practically ran to the shapeless object, and tore the sheet off.

.. Under that sheet was, oh my gosh, was a dark red Ducati, the exact model was my background on my laptop. Bella scampered up to me,

"Come on! Lets go for a ride!" She sounded almost as excited as me, I smiled at her, She grinned back, her blonde hair tied in a fishtail behind her, hazel eyes snapped in the light.

"Your so cute." I pinched her cheek, she made a face back at me. I straddled the bike, turning the handle, the smooth revving of the engine was almost catlike, I shuttered at the memories of base camp. Belle was on the tiny seat behind me, Kyle opened the garage door, we shot out of it, racing down the country roads, the world was blurring as we raced past, Belle buried her face in my leather jacket, the wind whipping her eyes, making them water. I had no problems, I was used to the snappy wind. I glanced down at the speedometer, it read 150, it probably wasn't wrong. I laughed as we tore down roads we've never been down, dodging cars, we probably got flipped off a few times, but who cares! This was FUN, riding a motorcycle in pajamas punks. We tore through the streets, not caring what we were doing, laughing and screaming, even until we pulled into the garage. Adam grinned at me,

"So I'm guessing you like it?" I replied,

"You kidding? I love it!" I caught Adam in a hug, he just stood there awkwardly. I laughed as he screwed up his face. Adam's not very huggable, he just sits there like a statue waiting for you to let him go. I went in the house with Belle and Adam, scanned the room for Kyle, wondering what had become of his cracked ribs. He was chatting normally with Drew, looking up to smirk at Belle, his side looked a little poufy, I was gonna guess that Sage had put his ribs back together best she could. I went over to him and plopped down next to Drew,

"How's your side, Kyle?"

"Perfectly fine."

"Then why do you look all poufy?"

"Sage made me wear a bandage."

"Why didn't you just take it of?"

"She threatened me." He looked sheepish.

"With what?" "Belle." He barely whispered,

"Oh." Drew stifled a snicker, Kyle shot him a death glare. Now I was the one who was snickering. Kyle elbowed me, I jammed my elbow into his side, he flinched more than I expected.

"What's wrong with you now? I though you were "perfectly fine?"

"Nothing!"

"Shut up, I'm giving you a medical inspection."

"No your not, your just being stupid!"

"I said shut up!"

"And I said nothing is wrong with me!"

"Yeah, is that why you look all poufy?"

"Why yes, yes it is."

"Ugh, just shut up and take off your shirt!" Kyle groaned and pulled his royal blue shirt over his head, revealing a bandage that pretty much covered his whole side. I flinched, almost not wanting to see what was wrong with him, and why he needed a band-aid bigger than his brain. I slowly pulled up the tape on the edge of the white tape on the edges on the bandage, pulling them up slowly so they wouldn't rip so bad. When I had the whole thing up, I pulled it off, shocked at what was underneath.

I shot my most venomous look at Drew, who was already squirming uncomfortably in his chair. I turned back to Kyle, his whole side was bruised, a molted black and blue, and the dent, yes, a dent, in his side was about the shape of Drew's' foot. This made me only increasingly pissed at Drew. Also surprised that he would hammer his partner in crime so hard.

"Kay, Kyle stand up." he obeyed,

"Okay, put your wings straight out," he slowly extended his wings, eyeing the floor. I furrowed my brow.

"I say no flying for a week."

"What!" Kyle set his jaw stubbornly,

"That's what I said." Kyle looked mad.

"It's just a week Kyle. I can guarantee that you will live." Kyle smiled grimly, pulling on his shirt, pushed his wings through the slits in the back, and plopped down on the couch, with an overdone pout on his face. I almost gaged, I knew that face, Essie made that face before. I couldn't stomach that face, her voice echoed in my head, that was it, her face flashed in front of my eyes, sneering, I gagged, for real this time, I rushed into the kitchen, throwing up into the sink, about five times, and sat on the floor, just taking deep breaths, I dragged the back of my hand across my mouth, no barf on my face. Just as I put my hand down on the cold floor, Drew pushed the glass doors into the kitchen open, his black eyes fell on me, the sink, eww, I don't want to know what that looked like. He sat down next to me.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah I'm fine."

"You don't look fine." he raised his eyebrows at me. I sighed and leaned my head against the cabinet under the sink, and sighed. Drew pulled me into his side, I tensed up,

"Settle down Leah." I forced my nerves to relax, they stayed settled. I pulled my legs to my stomach, Drew put his arm over my shoulders, I buried my face into his chest. He smelled like trees, evergreen trees, I inhaled his smell deeply, my spiked nerves slowly settled. For the first time in my life, I truly felt safe. "I still hate you Drew."


	14. Sink barf

Chapter 14-Drew P.O.V

Never had I seen Leah so fragile, I mean, she had thrown up in the sink, right after she sprinted into the kitchen, Kyle just sat there,

"Your future girl." I rolled my eyes at him, and followed her into the kitchen. When I got there, the sink had a puddle of barf in it, and Leah was sitting on the floor, all the color drained from her face. I went over to her and sat down next to her, and that somehow escalated into her curled up next to me, with her face buried in my chest, my arm around her, and me feeling like I was in heaven. Pretty awkward huh? Nope. I was just glad the only other person home was Kyle; otherwise I'm sure we would have gotten walked in on and someone would have taken stuff the wrong way. Adam was getting a car, and Sage and Belle went with him to supervise he didn't come home with some clunker hippie van.

After a while, Leah took a breath, and pulled away from me. Her face had regained color, and she looked a tad happier than she had when she sprinted into the kitchen. She smiled at me, her blue eyes flashed, and my heart went skipping over a field of daisies. "I still hate you." She chirped, and I smiled back at her, running my right hand through my short black hair, She stretched up and kissed my cheek, then scurried out of the room, leaving me sitting there shocked. I slowly stood up, rinsed out the sink, which surprisingly didn't smell so bad, just acidic. Really, really acidic, and walked back into the den, where Kyle was totally absorbed in an episode of SpongeBob, He turned to me when I sat down in my beanbag,

"Dude, did you score?"

"Shut up Kyle." he grinned at me, I rolled my eyes.

"Your such a player." Kyle smirked,

"I am not."

"Yes you are, first the ugly blonde chick, actually not really ugly, just freaky, now Leah! You're slaying them ladies!"

"Yeah, maybe you would get lucky if you at least acted average around Belle."

"Um, I'm not exactly average, hence the WINGS?" I laughed when he wagged his head back and forth.

"Whatch'ya laughin' at?" I threw my head back and laughed, I was sure, Kyle was one of those few people that I can call my friend. After a while, Leah's quiet footsteps pattered down her spiral staircase, appearing at the bottom of the stairs, she walked into the room, her hair and wings damp, and smelling like soap, plus she was wearing sweatpants, just so you know, I love sweatpants, so that was like the coolest thing she owns, even cooler than her leather jacket with the sleeve that was torn by the jackals. Lets just say that I love sweatpants.

She sat down in the purple beanbag next to me, her eyes trained on the television. She glanced over at me, I realized I was staring,

"What?"

"Nothing" I felt my cheeks burning and hoped it didn't show. I glanced over to Kyle, his eyebrows were raised. Leah had curled into a ball, her one wing thrown over her, like a blanket, her hair splayed out behind her, not braided, like it usually was. Her eyes slowly closed and her breathing slowed. Her left arm stuck out from under her wing, every muscle was prominent, every vein stood out sharply under her skin, even when she slept, she looked deadly, not like Essie, who looked like a normal person, all soft and pink.

Eww, sorta like pudding, yeah, she reminded me of pudding, strawberry pudding, I really don't like strawberry pudding.


	15. Adam and Sage

Chapter 15-Leah P.O.V

I blinked, opened my eyes, it was really bright, I groaned, I tried to roll over, except that didn't work because I was being carried,

"If you keep wiggling I'm just going to drop you." My eyes snapped open, the light not as harsh, Drew was carrying me towards my stairs,

"What are you doing!"

"You were sleeping so I decided to carry you up. Don't worry, I'm not going to try anything stupid." I sighed, that's a relief. I shut up and snuggled into his shirt, he still smelled like trees, I like that smell. He dumped me in my bed, and walked out my door, how courteous of him. I heard him plunking down the stairs, the TV blaring downstairs. I was going to beat up Kyle and break the rest of his ribs if he didn't turn it down, about three minutes later he did, yay, he lives another day.

My arm still smelled like Drew, and I curled up in a ball, waves of sleep swept over me, over and over until I fell asleep.

My eyes snapped open, I didn't want to wake up, and rolled onto my back and stared at my celling, eventually getting sick of the nasty taste in my mouth. I flung my legs over the side of my bed, rubbing my forehead, and walked out into my hall, over to my spiral staircase, and down into the kitchen, where Sage was the only one up and frying slices of ham about the size of small tortillas, my mouth watered as I plopped down into a red swivvel chair at the counter. Adam rushed into the kitchen and grabbed two pieces of Sages' toast and ham.

"Good morning ladies." Adam smiled to me, and back at Sage. She looked so pretty, with her thick curly strawberry blonde hair tumbling down to her elbows, green eyes flashing. I smirked at Adam, the edges of my mouth curving into a sly smile. He rolled his eyes at me.

"You guys should date." Oops, maybe I shouldn't throw stuff out in the open so much. Not.

"Yeah about that..."


	16. Jackals

Chapter 16-Leah P.O.V

I sat outside the kitchen door, listening to every word spoken by my favorite lovers. And nanner to them, because the rest of the flock was listening in to, so much for a private conversation. Belle was practically crawling all over me she was so excited. Drew kept giving me "the look", and Kyle kept wiggling his eyebrows at me, weird.

I'm just hoping nothing major happens or Belle is going to have a heart attack. When Sage and Adams conversations were over, We all marched one by one into the kitchen, I grabbed a handful of ham, and turned through the patio doors and took of into the sky, to share my ham with the local population of hawks in the area. They were circling over a huge patch of evergreen trees. I joined them, banking my left wing and pulling in a tight graceful circle, controlling myself with only the tips of my wings, I started handing out the ham, some of the hawks took their pieces and dove down to the trees, Probably for their baby hawks or something, others gulped down their pieces on the spot. My favorite bird in the area, a peregrine falcon, just like me, glided in.

I absolutely LOVED this falcon, even though I have no idea how it got here, I always gave it more food, just because I loved it. I dipped my right wing lower, raising my left, and pulled away from the group, when something struck my head from behind, I saw black dots, and started to fall, trying to shake away the exploding in my head. I searched my back hopelessly for my bow, which I had smartly left at home.

I spun, and surged towards the sky, a jackal was hovering, above me. Its catlike features molded on a human face, with leathery, bat-like wings. I smashed an uppercut underneath its ribcage, it hissed, revealing long canines, it swiped a clawed hand at my face, missed, barely grazing my cheekbones. I smashed my fist into its muzzle, which collapsed and it plummeted out of the sky, I cringed as a plane that resembled a bomber, released its cute little jackal bombs, please not my sarcasm. I gasped a breath and dove into the trees below me, slamming into the ground, and sprinted through the trees, the flock and I could run at speeds of up to 30 miles per hour, but the jackals were faster, at up to 40, upside is we were crazy fast in air, at up to 100 mph. A clawed hand dug into my right shoulder, making my knees buckle, the claws sunk deeper, I stopped and turned, feeling my elbow smash into the jackals' temple. When it slunk away from me, I scrambled up a tree, breathing hard, my hand over my shoulder, when I pulled it away, my hand was dripping red and my head was spinning.

My eyes rolled back, and I crashed through the trees, and landed, with a thud on the forest floor, only to be yanked off the ground, squeezed by my neck, cutting off my breath, I clawed at the hand, it only tightened around my neck, I arched my back as it picked me up of the ground, if I could have gasped, I would have. I heard laughing around me, my eyes flicked open, jackals every where, The one holding me by my neck loosened it grip on my neck a little so I could gather a panicked breath,

"so, little Bird, wanna tell where you made your nest?" It hissed with a raspy voice, the jackals behind it laughed, that so wasn't funny...

I narrowed my eyes at it, silent. Its grip my neck tightened, I arched my back, head thrown back, mouth open, begging for air, my lungs screaming, I blacked out, stars dancing at the back of my eyes.


	17. Emotions?

Chapter 17-Drew P.O.V

All of a sudden, I got this really bad feeling, like I was about to be torn apart, but I wasn't, and the feeling felt really distant, like it wasn't even mine.

I stumbled away from the couch, I felt myself being almost, attracted, to Leah's bow, I ran up her stairs, to her trunk, I threw off the lid, picked up her bow and quiver, I felt better, but the bad feeling was steadily getting worse, I sprinted to my room, grabbed my long sword, and took off out my window, I flew towards the feeling, And it felt stronger the farther I flew towards where it was coming from. Then it was suddenly overpowering, I darted down through the trees, hitting the ground at a sprint, tearing through the trees, I caught sight of jackals in the trees, I picked up the pace, sprinting harder towards them, I picked up the scent of rose soap, they had Leah. I felt my face burn, I tore faster through the trees, all the pain in my breathing disappeared, I easily caught up to them, drawing my long sword, and pulled a triple flip in front of them, then skidded to a stop, there must have been eight of them, one had Leah, passed out, tied to its back, I was burning in anger, I was going to go all out hell on these guys if they didn't let my girl go.

I pulled put my sword, walking to the one that had Leah, the rest of them took to the sky, this one didn't, I stared grimly at it, glaring with an air of death around me, I took a sweep at it, slicking down its chest, it pulled out a magnum, aimed at me, I smirked, sweeping the perimeter around me, cutting open its neck, through its windpipe, it fell to the ground, gasping, I dropped my sword, tore the ropes of Leah, the feeling totally gone, like I was passed out.

Wait, whoa, it these weren't my feelings, they were Leah's...Deep shit.

I pulled her gently off the jackals back, watching her wings, carrying her limp body bridal style, and sprinted through the Forest so the jackals wouldn't return and find me and her, with just me to defend us. I stopped at a clearing, sitting down with Leah in my lap, I shook her, trying desperately to wake her up, the sound of her heart beat slowly took place of the feeling in my head, she was alive, thank god. Her eyes slowly opened, I smiled at her,

"Where the hell am I? And why am I in your lap?" Her eyes fixed on me, her voice was groggy, even though she had tried to sound threatening, I smirked at her.

"Well you were passed out on the back of some cute fuzzy jackal being dragged through the woods, and I decided that it might be nice if I helped you." she narrowed her eyes at me,

"Then why am I sitting on you," she scooted off me, I tried to tune into her again, the sound of her racing heart filled my head, I smiled to myself, I could feel her emotions, pain, heartbeat, if I wanted to. But wait, why Leah? Why did I all of a sudden have this crazy connection with her. She frowned,

"How did you find me anyway? Much less catch up to the jackals, I mean, they're so much faster than us..."

"You calling me slow?"

"No, gah, just how did you find me!" I cringed, not sure if I wanted to share my new power with her, but then again, what could she do?

"Ummm, this might sound weird, but I can feel your, uh, emotions." She looked shocked, then for a second, embarrassed.

"I could tell where you where, like a radar, just with how strong I picked up on your emotions." she looked shocked, I smirked at her, she gave me a death glare, which would have been scary, if her heart didn't pick up every time she looked at me. I leaned over to her,

"Don't freak out, but I like you to." she turned to me, her eyes were wide, then they narrowed out again, she was so pretty, almost unreal, the way her long, dark hair fell in waves over shoulders, dark grey and black eyeliner around her electric blue eyes, she was covered in raw muscle, veins crawled over her skin, okay you get it she's really hot too, not to mention the super slayer bruiser personality. She stood up, I stood next to her, the wind whipped through our wings, then she took my hand, I looked at her, totally caught off guard, she smirked at me,

"Slow poke" she poked me when she said poke, and abandoned me, with one beat of her wings, rising into the clear blue sky, I smiled, and beat my wings to join her, just to see her losing altitude as fast as she had gained it.


	18. Archery outlet

Chapter 18-Drew P.O.V

She was falling out of the sky, with me racing to catch her before she hit the ground. The huge gash on her right shoulder was bleeding profusely now, I got under her, hooking my arm around her waist, and turned towards home. When we got there, she had lost a lot of blood, I pounded on the glass patio doors, and Sage rushed to open them and took Leah from me, lifting her easily over to the tile kitchen floor. Adam rushed in, with Belle and Kyle on his heels.

"What happened?" Adams grey eyes took in the scene,

"Jackals." I barely panted. Sage reached under the sink and pulled out the biggest medical box I ever saw, she pulled out a huge syringe, and took a needle about as long as my pinkie out of a sterile grey package, and handed it to Adam, who groaned and walked into the bathroom, Sage had stringed a long thin needle with that cool string stuff, and started to sew together one on the long deep cuts on Leah's shoulder, I shuttered, Belle gasped and turned away, Kyle, just sorta sat there.

When Sage was done sewing Leah back together, Adam walked back in, with the syringe full of one pint of his blood, because him and Leah had the same blood type. Sage took off the old needle, replacing it with a new one, pushing it gently onto an artery on Leah's arm, which wasn't hard to hit, because her veins are so close to the surface of her skin. The blood in the syringe slowly emptied into Leah's arm, and when she was done, she covered the spot with a hello kitty Band-Aid, and carried her up to her room. I followed, prepared with three sandwiches for when Leah wakes up.

Next morning, her eyes snapped open,

"What happened" her voice was groggy, I handed her a sandwich (No, I didn't sleep, and no I'm not tired. I've got her to watch all night! What gets better?), which she inhaled.

"You passed out again from loss of blood, so Adam donated for you." she grabbed another sandwich, chewing thoughtfully. An expression I had seen before passed over her face, the same expression she had before she called Adam out of the sky, like she wanted someone dead. I reached out to her, and took her hand, it was icy cold, she gripped onto me, her expression faded and her electric eyes fixed on me, the corners of her mouth twitched up. I smiled back at her, she looked relieved,

"I could have done better in the woods, I need to practice." she got up out of her bed and went into her closet, She emerged with tight skinny jeans, leather converse, and a black hoodie that cleanly hid her wings. Her hair was in a waterfall braid and the rest of her wavy hair tumbled down to her waist. She grabbed my arm and dragged me down to my room, going through my sweatshirts, eventually choosing a grey pullover that hid my wings. She smiled at me and I followed her to the garage, she pulled Adams keys off the hook and threw them at me,

"You take the mustang, I'm taking my bike." she waltzed over to her Ducati, pulling her black helmet over head, I climbed into Adams mustang, his pride was this thing. I opened the garage door, Leah revved her bike and shot out the door and turned down the roads, I followed her, She turned back to me, her face invisible under her black helmet, She turned back around and sped even faster down the roads, until she was out of site. I pushed down the pedal farther, the meter read 120, I'll steal Adams car.

Eventually I hit public roads, and had to slow down to lame, old, boring, normal speed. Lame, I know right? Eventually, I caught up to Leah, who wasted all her fuel tearing down the back roads. Pulling into the gas station, I stepped out of Adams car, hooking it up to the pump.

"How was your drive?" She stated in a regal way,

"Absolutely lovely, mah lady." I crossed hand over my chest and bowed in front of her, she laughed and turned back to her bike.

"So where exactly are we going?" She turned back to me, stretching her bad shoulder,

"There's an archery an' target range and outlet on the west side of town, follow me and I'll get us there." her voice was crackly, but the British accent only made it better. I could only nod at her. In about five minutes we were back on the road, making our, lame, old, boring, normal speedy way to the outlet.

When we pulled in, to some old wood building that was about fifteen miles away from the rest of the town, Leah pulled her helmet off, and walked over to where I was parked, tapped the trunk for me to open it and for her to get her bow. Then pulled out the hard case, and came over to where I was standing,

"You ready?" I nodded and took her hand. She walked up to the old metal door and puled it open, a wave of old musky smell washed over me, it wasn't unpleasant, but wasn't pleasant either. I followed Leah into the store, which had targets and all sorts of archery tools and equipment everywhere, even on the celling. Leah had approached a man who was sitting, facing away from her at a desk across the counter, punching numbers into a calculator.

"Um, Hello? Mr. Hughes?" The man straightened up in his chair and turned around, he looked to be in his late 40s. When he saw Leah, he rushed over to the counter across from her,

"Oh my gosh! Leah, is that you?" She smiled,

"Why yes, yes it is."

"Wow! How have ya been? I haven't seen you in I'd say, two years?"

"Yeah it's been a while..."

"So what happened to your family? Are you all okay? Nothing crazy?" Now I was on high alert, what did this guy know? How did he know about Leah's family? Leah looked back at me, probably seeing the suspicion on my face, motioned me over,

"Hey Vick, this is Drew Everett, the newest member of my flock," she smiled looking pleased.

"Vick" smiled at me to,

"You must be a special guy to get into Miss Leah's flock, that girl has some pretty high standards." she blushed, pulling the case containing her bow and arrows onto the counter,

"So, I was hoping you could help me with an identification with a new bow I got, since you worked at the main base and all." Wow, this guy worked at the main base? Small world huh? She popped the lid on the case, letting Vick take the light bow and a single red-feathered arrow from her sheath.

"Wow, where did you get this?" she shrugged,

"Training, they left it out for me I guess."

"That's amazing, because when I ran the weaponry, this thing was dated at over a hundred years." her eyebrows hit the ceiling.

"But, that just means the base just added my name into the metal of the blades and the arrows right?"

"No, I strictly remember those being there, Leah, you were planned out so carefully, every feature, every measurement, everything they could control. You were a thought even before your parents were born. You are designed to be the greatest."


	19. target shootery

Chapter 19-Leah P.O.V.

How important was I supposed to be? I felt Drew standing next to me, his hand brushed mine, electricity flowed up my am for a split second. I felt his eyes digging into me, probably probing my every emotion, every feeling. I was glad he couldn't read my thoughts. I turned to Vick,

"Do you have any targets I can use with this?"

"I don't know, we could go to the range and see what you've got." I smiled at Vick, he was like my dad, I wished he were, the way he knew so much about me and Adam was amazing, like he brought us up his whole life.

"Oh Vick? One more thing." I whipped off my hoodie, revealing my dark purple T-shirt, my wings still folded tightly against my back, I shook them out, knowing how they looked, with their brown and white etching. Vick's' eyes bugged out and his mouth opened, I smiled, Vick turned to Drew,

"Wha...? You to?" Drew remained impassive, pulling off his hoodie, revealing his cream colored wings. Vick's' expression grew more stunned,

"All of you?"

"Yup," I popped the p. He looked dumbfounded.

"Come on, I got some targets to shoot!" I said, Drew picked up my sheath, filling it with my arrows, I picked up my bow, slinging it over my shoulder, Vick led us out the door, and down an old dirt path. Drew flicked my ear, tantalizing me, when I turned to him, he laughed and took off into the sky. I spread my wings and soared into the air after him, Vick gazed at us from the ground, looking amazed, like this was the greatest moment of his life, he was smiling. I turned to Drew,

"You stinky blueberry!" I screeched at him, charging him smiling, he easily dogged me, grabbing me from behind, his strong arms, like rock, surrounded me, his smell washed over me, making my head spin. He couldn't fly holding a wiggly me, so he let me go, I dove towards the ground, like the peregrine whose wings I had. I unfurled my wings with my feet only inches from the ground, right in front of Vick.

"Wow, you are amazing." his voice was happy, he looked like a lava lamp, glowing,

"I'm glad you like my wings." I smiled at him. Drew stayed in the sky, circling over where the ranges must be. We eventually got there, Drew dropped down next to us, face blank, handing me my quiver of arrows, I buckled it around my hips and over my shoulder and around my wing.

Pulling my bow off my shoulder and loading an arrow, aiming it at the farthest target, I released the arrow, and it struck the target, but sliced right through it. I shoulder rolled to my right, propped up on one knee, instantly loaded another arrow, hitting the next target dead center. From my position, I back flipped, while mounting another arrow, hitting the ground, and releasing the arrow at the same time, hitting the small bright orange target slightly off center, from where I was standing, I aimed a new arrow at a deer statue with a body made out of soft stuff, I aimed for where its heart would be, and released a dull arrow to slice through the deer's heart area. My arms dropped, no exhaustion from my little show. I glanced at Vick, he motioned for me to hand him my bow, I did, he could hardly pull back the string.

"How many pounds it this thing set on?" I shifted my eyes to the ground, drawing circles in the dirt with my toe,

"hundred fifty."

"And you have no problems drawing?"

"Nope." He made a face,

"I've got something for ya, you want a target, lets see you shoot through this one!"


	20. I almost die, again

Chapter 20-Leah P.O.V.  
After a foot thick green target later, Drew and I had raced home, and yeah, I won. Having a Ducati really helped with this sort of stuff.

When we got home, Drew set up the twenty targets we got in a twelve-mile radius around our house, while I went for a run with Sage. She was a great running partner, very calm, steady, and her gift of massive strength really showed, she could run for 3 hours at about 15 miles per hour. She also liked to keep a light conversation, being the glass half full of orange juice person that she was.

Our feet lightly tapped the dirt road (actually our driveway), we ran slower than usual, Sage had already lifted weights with the boys, showing them up, that's my girl.

"So how are things with you and Adam?" I wiggled my eyebrows at her, she rolled her eyes at me,

"pretty good, nothing crazy..." Sage and Adam were always the, "essential couple" always there, never changing.

"So lee," Sage glanced mischievously at me,

"What's going on with you and Drew?" Her look was challenging, I returned the look,

"absolutely nothing."

"That's not what Adam said."

"Oh jeez..." Sometimes having a brother that was a mind reader was really annoying.

"What did he say?"

"Something along the lines of, He came home with only you in his thoughts. Adam looked pretty pissed, he wouldn't tell me everything. I wonder why?" Sages Clear blue eyes trained on me,

"What happened while you guys were getting targets?" I rolled my eyes at her,

"Nothing crazy."

"So something happened?"

"Not the sort of stuff you're thinking of." She frowned at me, Probably wishing Adam were here to pick apart my brain and find the answer she was looking for.

"He thinks you your accent is sexy."

"God sage!" I lunged at her, she sprinted away from me towards the woods, screaming, I charged after her, smiling. I chased after her, Her feet barely seemed to touch the ground, she must have been averaging at about twenty-three mph. I tackled her in the trees in front of our house, She gasped when I slammed into her back, laughing, knocking her into the ground. I fell next to her on my face, laughing and gasping for air, when I heard a snapping behind me, Both Sage and me bolted upright,

"Holy shit, Leah..." Sage whispered, the sun fading in the sky made it harder to see the figure outlined in the woods bolting thought the trees. I trained my eyes on the black figures, exposing their red eyes and patchy fur, yes, the jackals were back. The hair on my arms raised,

"take deep breaths", a voice in my head boomed,

"I'm coming." More and more jackals bolted around in the dark forest around us, Sage was standing over me, fists clenched. A jackal charged us from behind, its claws catching my torn shoulder, ripping out the stiches and re openign the half healed wound. I stumbled backwards, falling on my back. It stepped foreword, smiling sickeningly, and stamped onto my stomach, I heard my ribs crackle, pain erupting through my chest. It stepped back, allowing my to rollover onto my side,

"ignore the message!" I screamed silently to myself. From the ground, I round housed its feet out from under it; it landed hard on its back, flipping into the air, landing on its neck, breaking it. Sage darted to my right, into the trees. I heard the patter of fast footsteps and a sickening crack, followed by a low scream. Sage could be really violent, I mean really violent, so I usually try to avoid where she is on the battlefield. I heard a jackal creep up behind me, I back-hand-springed, catching it Around the neck with my feet (which is hard to do upside down) pulled it over my body, smashing it into the ground headfirst, it didn't move when I stood up, Yay for me, I kill stuff.

I darted into the forest, my legs feeling like rubber after our run. When I found a jackal prowling towards where Sage was, I leaped up soundlessly onto some low branches of the trees, with one flap. Leaping from branch to branch, moving closer to it. I dropped down behind it, tapped it on the shoulder,

"looking for someone?" I hissed in its ear, it turned and swiped at me in one jerky motion, I chuckled softly, bobbing to avoid its claws. This one was a female, way more fun than males, also more rare, dangerous, and smart. It swiped at me again, I easily dodged it, side kicked it in the ribs, swiftly changing feet in mid-air, finishing with throwing all my weight into its ribs, the crackling sound was sick, but satisfying.

It stumbled back, clutching its side, Face twisted, teeth barred, growling, It lunged at me, punch aimed for my head, I shoulder rolled behind it, leaping onto its back, twisting its head to the side to the limit, it reached up, sinking its claws into my legs, I flinched, my vision blurred, pumping red, I hooked my arm around its neck, pulling back sharply, cutting off airflow. It stumbled backwards, sinking its claws deeper into my legs, and slammed my back hard into a tree. I felt fresh pain throb in my lower back, but grit my teeth and puller upward on her neck again.

I always feel bad about killing them, mostly because I know what their pain feels like, but I guess its like eat or be eaten right? Well I'm not getting eaten anytime soon. I, being the incredibly gracious person that I am, released my grip on its neck, let it gasp a breath, and I quickly snapped its neck.

When She fell, I landed easily on the ground. Running Towards where Sage was, no matter what carnage she had managed. She was sitting on a fallen tree, bodies scattered around her, picking at her nails, smiling when she saw me approaching, Spreading her soft white wings and rose easily into the sky, soundlessly.

Sage also had the gift of silence, along with Adam and Drew, she could fly silently, effortlessly. Her white wings stood out against the dark sky, I beat my wings to level off with her and push ahead. She huffed and flapped harder to catch up with me,

"Always gotta be first huh?"

"Um, Sage, DUH." she rolled her eyes at me,

"Hey, here comes your boyfriend."

"Shut up Sage", but I still searched the sky for his strong form.

"Oh, I guess were feeling feisty today!" Drew rose up next to me, his forehead creased,

"Are you okay? What happened? You gave me a heart attack! Could you give clearer signals? Its Goddamn hard to read your mind sometimes!"

"WAHHHHHHH!" Drew shut up and looked startled and stared at me,

"Can't you see I'm in the middle of a rant Leah?" I face palmed,

"Drew I'm alive, be happy."

"Yeah, okay, then lets ignore the deep cuts all over you and just throw a party!" he hissed at me, that was when the pain hit me, my torn shoulder had opened up again, my legs ached, probably bleeding profusely. I faltered for a second, just long enough for Drew to slip under me and keep me from falling.

"Yeah I'm fine!" Drew imitated me under his voice. I shot him a death glare, which probably didn't look to terrifying considering he wasn't looking at me. I raised my wings and lifted off him,

"I don't need your help." I slurred, Both Sage and Drew raised their eyebrows at me, pissing me off.

"You sure?" Drew prodded, that pushed me over edge,

"YES IM SURE! I'M NOT FUCKING HELPLESS!" I screamed at him, racing to get away from them, stretching and recoiling the thick muscles in my back, focusing only on raising my wings and beating them back down hard. I shot through the sky for about five minutes, eventually slowing from the stinging, searing pain that was shooting through my body.

I spotted our house nestled in the dark woods, and started to slowly circle down towards it, angling down my left wing, making tight spiral circles to the ground. I stumbled three steps when I hit the ground, hunching over, clutching my bloody shoulder, gasping.

"Hey, Adam, a little help please?" At the moment I sent my thought to him, he burst through the door. Looking around franticly till he saw me on my knees, hunched over in the shadows of the trees, he hurried over, silent over the grass. When he reached me, He picked me up like a baby, carrying me swiftly back to the kitchen, between the island and the sink, set me down on the floor.

"What happened?" His cloudy blue eyes filled with worry. I tapped my temple with my left hand, he nodded, getting my message. He closed his eyes, focusing as he probed my brain for the memory of what happened, leaning against the cold wood on the kitchen island, Kyle burst into the kitchen, kneeling next to me, running his fingers over the gashes on my shoulder, I flinched when I felt the skin on my shoulder stretch over the cuts, tighter and tighter, until the stretching released and the pain in my shoulders disappeared. I traced my fingers over where the cuts used to be, tracing over thick scars, about four inched long, and five of them, wrapping over my shoulder and across my back. I let out a breath that I had been holding in, turning my head to where Kyle was,

"How...?" he shook his head, flipping his long black, almost blue hair out of his face.

"I don't know...a few days ago I was re-wrapping my ribs, when I pulled my hand away, my ribs just sorta popped back into place, it was the weirdest thing." I looked at him skeptically, he stared back, totally serious.

"Well why didn't you find this out sooner! It would have been really helpful!" he shrugged. Adam cleared his throat, Kyle and me turned to him,

"What happened, I couldn't get that much when you had your little side conversation." He glared at Kyle, who grinned back at him and crossed his eyes. I started to laugh, but hunched over again, pain in my chest throwing me off.

"Holy shit..." Kyle cursed as he ran a hand down my back,

"She has some internal damage, lungs, kidneys, air sacs, a few ribs..." his voice faded, He glanced at Adam, who's face was blank, but his eyes gave away how worried he was.

"Lets get her into my room." Kyle scooped me up, I flinched, but the sudden pain was instantly gone, I cuddled into Kyle, he was warm, and smelled like man, wait, I must be really off my rocker if I'm being cuddly, and cuddling KYLE no less.

He laid me down on my stomach on Adams black bedspread, Adam sat by my head, stroking my hair, taking it out of its tight braid. Kyle ran his hands down my back, and I gasped when I felt my ribs moving, back to where they belong, being mended together, the pain slowly being erased. I heard the door slam downstairs, footsteps up the stairs, I closed my eyes, letting Adam peel off my sweaty hoodie, leaving me in my tank top. Kyle rolled me over onto my back, placed a warm hand on my stomach, it tensed and I bolted upright, Pain shooting through my midsection, I inhaled sharply, hyperventilating. Adam gently pushed me back down, my senses slowly fading, I heard voices as my vision blurred,

"torn abs, lungs, smashed kidneys, air sacs..." Drew's worried voice, Sages trying to calm him, Belles smell next to me, black dots taking over my vision.


	21. Pictures and weed

Chapter 21-Drew P.O.V

I sat and watched, as Kyle ran his fingers over each of her ribs, pulling them back into place with the slightest flick of his finger, traced his hand down her stomach, stopping wherever she must have problems, fixing them, moving on. I didn't like the way he could touch her like that, I tried not to let it bother me. Adam kept giving me this blank glare, I turned away,

"Don't let it bother you Drew." I turned back to him, practically spiting at him,

"stay out of my head." I stood up, storming out of the room, hearing small talk behind me, I ignored it, I needed to get out of here, to think. I don't belong inside. I left trough the patio doors, taking a running start before opening my wings and letting the wind pick me up off the ground. The dark sky was cold, but I welcomed its emptiness, letting it penetrate through me. I was so confused, and angry. Why did Leah have to hide from me? Whenever she saw me, she would smile for a split second, then retreat inside herself, guarding herself, like I was trying to penetrate and raid her life.

I unhinged my shoulder blades, letting the cold wind wash over me. I surged even higher, even if she wouldn't be herself with me, I still want her to love me like I love her. She kept me awake at night, just the memories of when I first saw her, whenever she moved, she was like fire, always moving, just like the sky. But I needed to know, what was holding her back so hard, why she would erase that memory, everything around it. I exhaled, letting my wings go limp, I dropped out of the sky, my stomach churned as the frigid air whipped past me as I fell. This feeling was like a drug, worse that heroin or crack, the sky was my drug. And I'm addicted as hell.

I opened my eyes, the ground racing towards me. I slowly opened my eyes, letting the wind catch me, right before my feet hit the ground. I just stood there, staring at the house. I eventually went in, treading across the floor silently, up Leah's stairs, into her room. Suddenly I was mindless, across her floor, to her shelves, rows of boxes, I pulled of a thin black one, I tucked it into my pocket. What was I doing? I don't even know what I'm doing, just pulling boxes, I leaned against the wall, pressing my forehead into it, hoping not to make a dent in the wall. I turned over, composing myself, pushing myself away from the wall, out of her room, down her hall, down the stairs, up mine, into my room. I sat down in the floor, prying the lid off the box.

I froze at the contents, pictures and a lighter. I gently pulled out one of the pictures, trying to breath deeply. I knew Leah and Adam had a rough life before they were brought to main base, but now, everything in my perspective from who Leah was had just changed. My hand shook as I held the picture, kneeling on her floor, One, thin image, with her dark grey makeup dripping down her face, wet hair, thin face. The worst part about it was the white tube she was holding to her lips.

I pulled out more and more pictures, one with her, leaning against a wall, wearing a black tank-top, red jacket thrown over her like a blanket, cigarette in her hand, staring off into the distance.

Another, her pale face thrown back, her dark hair blending in with the dark background, a smoky sort of haze over her pale face. I pulled out another, my fingers shaking, she was glancing down, her dark hair was messy and unkempt and braided, same white tube in her mouth.

I was breathing hard now. Thoughts racing each other around my head. When my door swung open, and Belle walked in.

"Hey drew I was wondering if..." then she saw me.

"What are you doing with those?" her voice changed to a whisper, anxiety on her face.

"Belle, tell me what these are." She leaned out into the hall, and leaned back in, walking gingerly across the floor to where I was, sitting cross legged across from me.

"When we first broke out of the main base, Leah was suffering from constant anxiety attacks and migraines, followed by chronic depression, whole bunch of shit. She started going to this boxing club, beating people up for money ya know? Well she never lost a fight, but she got really free willed, started doing drugs as an escape from the pain when she would get migraines. She started telling me that she could hear voices in her head, sometimes screaming, like someone was calling her." Belle looked up at me,

"then you came along." she smiled faintly at me, before scooping up the pictures and rushing out of the room. I pulled my knees up to my chest, resting my head on my knees. Why would she do this to herself? The drugs? The image of her pale face, grey makeup dribbling down her cheeks, burned into the back of my mind. It scared me, but just made me love her more. Showed she had a weak spot.

I would love her no matter what she did, or what anyone else did.


	22. The woods

Chapter 22-Leah P.O.V.  
I was sitting under the bridge, with a few of my friends from the boxing club. We were taking painkillers, smoking weed, like we usually did after matches, laughing and talking, until a massive migraine hit me. I doubled over, screams filled my ears, the same ones as always, angry voices in the background, blurry colors coated my eyelids. A boy about a year older than me, fighting off whatever was around me, the sound of snapping and screaming.

My eyes flicked open, blinding light flooded in, I snapped them closed again. I continued this process for about five minutes until my eyes were used to the lights. I searched the room, hoping drew would be here, but the room was empty. I leaned back in the pillows as the rest of the room came back into focus. Everything was silent. Where was everybody? Nothing was ever this quiet, especially Kyle. I pushed back the dark blankets, sitting on the edge of Adams bed. All the pain in my stomach was gone. I stood up, walking over to Adams full-length mirror, examining my self. I was left in my sports bra and spandex. I examined myself, made up of only hard muscle and thin skin. My pale arms covered in thick muscle and my veins stood out.

I turned around, pulling my long dark hair over my shoulder, examining the long scars that traced over my back, over my shoulder, and ended somewhere in the middle of my back. I ran my fingers over them, feeling their rough form under my fingers. The rest of my back was covered with defined muscle, my wings left a thin trail of soft brown feathers down to my lower back. I was like a machine, barely human anymore. Just a mind in a shell, I used to be thin, like a model, now I looked like a figure competitor. I walking into the hall, down the stairs, to the shower, taking a towel from the cabinets just outside the doors. I knocked on the doors, hearing no response, I went into the bathroom, locking the door behind me. I turned on the water, waiting for it to heat up, I brushed my teeth, furiously trying to rid myself of the taste of blood that never left my mouth.

I spit, gulping water, jumped into the shower, letting the water run down my hair, over my face. Its warmth chasing the cold away. I soaped my hair, rinsed it out, soaped it again, rinsed it again, when it felt clean, I turned the water cold. Letting it run down my body, it took away the warmth, making me shiver. I turned off the water, wringing out my hair, stepping out, wrapping a towel around myself. I sprinted out into the hall, up into my room, into my closet, tying my hair up into a bun, clipping it up. My closet was pretty much another room, with shelves and little cupboards everywhere. Even a little spot where I had my brushes and mirror.

All the clothes I had, Belle had made me buy, tons of hoodies, sweaters, Skinny jeans, skirts, all from fancy brands, Most of them I didn't wear. I chose a pair of dark skinny jeans, leather belt, knee high moccasin boots, red hoodie that read "south butt." I smirked as I pulled it over my head. I went over to my vanity, looking at my complexion, thin pale face, blue eyes, ugh.

My dark hair only made me look paler. There was a knock on my closet wall, Belle poked her head through the doorway.

"Hey Lee, glad your up." She smiled at me, her straight blonde hair fell over her shoulders perfectly.

"Want me to help you with your hair?" she asked cocking her head to the side.

"Shure." she walked over to me, grabbing my blow dryer, pulling out the knots in my hair, drying it, Belle was really good at hair, especially making mine look normal. Which it never was. When it was dry, it was still pretty wavy, so she plugged in my hot iron, pulling out all my dark waves so my dark hair fell straight down to my waist. She then French braided it down the back, pulling it out of my face.

"No problem." she smiled down at me, I smiled back at her. Belle was one of the very few people I smile at, but hey, she's my best friend, what can I say? I stood, my smile faded, Turning away from Belle, I was still as cold as before. I was like a machine. No one could change the past, so no one could change me. Belle put her hand on my shoulder, I turned back to her, she held up a red bandanna, I bent my head to her, and she tied it around my head. I stood back up. She looked my straight in the eyes, which most people didn't do, because they said my stare was like ice, searing into their souls. I laughed when they would say this. Belle pointed to my door.

"Go down there and kick some ass." One corner of my mouth twitched up, I turned, out into the hall, taking my bow and quiver of arrows from the trunk at the end of the hall. Pulling the string of my bow over my head, onto my shoulder. I pattered down my stairs, into the big center room and into the kitchen. Finding a plate of cold morning muffins in the fridge. I picked one up, glancing out the window, still was still dark out. Belle was always an early riser so no wonder she was up so early.

I guessed the rest of my flock was still sleeping. Being up this early gave me time to go outside and do things I don't usually do in the daytime, like tracking deer and moose. Sitting in the trees and watching them silently. Sometimes I would find old cabins, some with people in them and others without, Mentally marking not to go there. But now that I had those targets, I would have something challenging to do in the mornings.

I pushed the last bite of muffin into my mouth, wishing I had brought more food, not quite used to my racing metabolism. I pushed open the tall glass back doors. We had a tiny lake behind our house, and I just stood looking at it. I sat on the damp grass. It was still pretty dark outside, still pretty cold, not that I minded. I tucked my knees up to my chest, the handle of my bow rubbing against my back, I shifted it to a more comfortable position. Tucking my chin on my knees, wrapping my arms around my legs. I stared up at the sky, still a darker blue, every shape against it hidden. I let my wings relax behind me on the damp grass, relaxing the muscles in my back, sighing at the relief from holding them tight against my back. I leaned back on my palms, the sky was turning lighter. I slowly stood, pulling my wings loosely to my back. I rolled my shoulders, and started jogging around the lake to where the woods started, my boots soundless on the blanked of pine needles that covered the ground.

I picked up speed, darting through the trees, searching for the lime green targets. When I found the first one, the sight of it actually startled me, and my bow was off my back and an arrow was in the center of it in record time. The corners of my mouth twitched up at my aim. With my bow still in my hand, I took a quick flap up to where the target was hung, examining my shot, dead center. I let go of the tree, plummeting to the ground.

"Nice shot," I whirled around at the sound of the voice, I notched an arrow, pulling it back, turning in circles, trying to locate the source.

"Come on Leah, I'm shure that isn't necessary." I eased the arrow, looking up into the trees. Drew was sitting on a high branch, looking down at me, his dark eyes seemed to be taking me apart and examining every bit of me. My forehead creased, I turned and sprinted through the woods, daring him to follow me, shure enough he did, Quietly dropping out of the tree like a cat, easily catching up to me and matching pace. There was a cliff about 13 degrees west, I swerved in that direction.

Lets see how much he trusts his wings.


	23. Running in da woods

Chapter 23-Drew P.O.V.

I matched pace with her through the trees, Picking up on her direction before she turned, suddenly she cut all her thoughts off from me, and pulled farther in front of me, her feet barely seeming to touch the ground. The trees began to thin out, and in the distance the ground ran out, but her pace still quickened. Suddenly her voice pounded in my head,

_free-fall_. My eyes widened, she was going to jump off a cliff and see if I would follow her. She leaped fearlessly off the edge, wings still tucked to her back, arms out. I inhaled and leaped off behind her, struggling to keep my body stiff. I always hated free falling, it was hard to control.

I focused on Leah, she held her arms to her sides, slicing through the air, I copied her motions, she used her legs and fingertips to make tiny adjustments as she fell. I looked down, the green tops of trees racing towards us. I unhinged my shoulder blades, waiting to carefully snap open my tan wings. I scanned Leah's thoughts, waiting for her cue to snap. Her command came, and I was a split second behind her, catching the wind, feeling it lift me up.

I angled my shoulders up and pumped my wings in clean up and down movements. Leah's thoughts focusing on the clear sky, everything around her gave her hints about the weather, the lengths of wind, even the smells floating through the air. She leveled out, and I flapped once to come next to her, letting the currents of air hold me next to her. The roaring from the wind rushing past died away and the sky was silent, except for the rustling of our feathers and hawk cries below us.

"Your a good flier." her comment was sudden,

"So are you."

"Your not like the rest of the flock, they would never have followed me over that cliff like you did." I stayed silent, wondering what to say to her.

"How do you fall so easily? Like so calm and, I dunno, Perfect?" She smirked, Running her hand down her long braid, and twirling the end in her fingers,

"I guess its habit, I like the falling feeling, so I guess its just what happens after you fly all day."

"Could you teach me?" She laughed,

"I can't teach you to fly, you have to teach yourself."

"Wow, that was deep." She chuckled and looked foreword.

"So you want me to teach you to fly?"

"If you can."

"Okay, ill try, but I move fast."

"I bet I can keep up." She rolled like a fighter jet away from me, and shot forward, seconds later, I was knocked back by an earsplitting boom and gust of air, and she was gone. I continued to just hang in the air, letting the currents of air Pull me around in the sky, a dot appeared on the horizon, growing steadily closer. Eventually the dot became Leah, and she was flying next to me again, not looking exhausted at all.

"So you can fly at the speed of sound?"

"Yes captain observant." We flew in silence, then her thoughts decided to glide down and... Then she cut me off and gave me an annoyed look. She pulled in her wings, losing altitude rapidly, I pulled in my wings and followed her, watching as her wings open as she disappeared into the trees. I copied her movements, and crashed a little less than graceful through the canopy of the trees, landing on my back at her feet, she looked down at me smiling.

"Common loser lets run." Her blue eyes smiled at me, She took my breath away. I'm glad she isn't the mind reader and Adam was.

I stood next to her, she barely came up to my shoulder, But she still could kill me easily if she wanted to. She turned away from me, sprinting through the Forest; I followed her, running right behind her. We raced through the trees, I was panting, but Leah seemed to be hardly affected. She shot me a mocking glance, and slowed down her breakneck pace. She slowed to a walk, looking totally comfortable in huge array of trees. She continued walking until she stopped in front of a huge boulder, right in front of a not as huge cliff, turning back towards me, waiting for me to catch up. When I reached her, I bent over, putting my hands on my knees, breathing deeply, trying to get as much oxygen into my air sacs and lungs.

Leah put her hands on her hips, and one corner of her mouth twitched up at me in a smirk. I stood back up, towering over again. She turned away from me, catching my shoulder with her bony wing joint. I heard her laugh as she began to circle the rock. I chased after her, catching up to her easily, she must not have been trying, because I caught her, pulling her feet of the ground, pulling her, wiggling and screaming,

"Drew! Put me down! Put me down now!" Her voice was angry, but her mind was laughing with me. I, laughing, let her go, and she darted up the side of the steep rock, out of my sight. I steadied my self, found a good path up the rock, and made my way up the face of the boulder, much slower than Leah had raced to the top. She was sitting cross-legged at the top, facing over a valley and over the mountains, where the edges of the sky were just turning pink. I sat next to her, and she scooted closer to me, letting her wings relax, spread out behind her, the gold patterns reflecting the dim light.

Her mind was racing, wondering, contemplating, totally unclear, a blur of images and words, phrases, colors, Then the lingering flash of me sitting in a tree above her, and dropping down, landing behind her replayed in her mind. The corner of my mouth twitched up, She is so easy to read. I put out my wing, wrapping it around her, drawing her in, She stiffened, and her mind went black, Then, she relaxed, sighing into me, my images flashing through her mind again. I slipped my arm over her shoulders, and she buried her face into my chest, and started bawling. I was taken back.

I never knew that she had a weak side, much less that she would randomly start crying. For a few seconds, I sat there, then I was captain comforting. I pulled her into my lap, wrapping my arms around her shoulders, Just letting her cry into my shoulder. She clung to me, like a leech, like I don't think it was possible for her to let me go, and I was totally fine with it. Eventually, her sobs quieted, and she just shuttered into my shoulder.

"What's wrong?" I kept the worry out of my voice. Her mind was blurry the whole time, and I had no clear image of what was wrong.

"The truth is I'm terrified, of what's going to happen to us. I have no idea, and I'm terrified. The whole flock depends on me, and I can't show weakness to them, and its probably not right that I'm sitting here with you whining about how weak I am." her voice was shaky, and broke at the end. She began shaking again, like a leaf. I pulled the band out of the end of her braid and let her dark hair cascade down my arms like a waterfall. I pulled my fingers through her silky hair, and her shaking slowly stopped, and she breathed quietly into my shoulder.

"Leah?"

"Drew?" I smirked; if she could poke fun at me she was fine.

"Lee, I...I want to take care of you. I know that you think you can take care of yourself...but I just want to be there with you." She pulled away from me, looking up into my face, her icy eyes melted away. She shifted in my lap to face the sky, leaning against my chest, her sharp spine and folded wings digging into my stomach.

"Jeez, your such a bone fish."

"Wow, thanks or realizing my fishy nature." She said in a dull tone. The corners of her mouth twitched up, her mind filled with bright colors, happiness. She scooted up off my lap and stood up, raising her arms to the sky, stretching. She turned back to me, the sun peeking up over the horizon shone behind her head, her face a shadow until my eyes adjusted. She took my breath away every time she met my eyes. So unreal, carved sharp face, long neck, dark hair pulled over one shoulder, framing her thin face perfectly.

Leah was my absolute perfection. I stood up, Towering over her again, and took a step next to her, she kept her thoughts calm and collected, and I slipped an arm around her waist, her sharp hipbones prominent through her hoodie. She leaned into me,

"Drew..." Her eyes closed, face turned to the rising sun, pearly pale face, beautiful. Her eyes opened again, meeting mine.

"I...I love you." She stammered, regret instantly rising in her throat, I felt the surprise register in my face. Her eyes widened in horror,

"I'm so sorry, Drew I'm sorry!" She stammered as she stumbled backwards, totally astounded with her own outburst. She leaped off the boulder, Falling, then opening her wings and raising and bringing her wings down hard to shoot through the air. I leaped off right behind her, flapping hard to try to keep pace with her. She was racing through the clouds; I had to get in her head if her thoughts were clear enough she would hear me.

Leah, listen to me, wait! Her breakneck pace slowed and she allowed me to catch up to her, right next to her, The tips of my primaries brushed hers, sending electricity through my wing. She landed gracefully through the trees, my landing still as clumsy as before, maybe worse, I dunno. She was standing with her back facing away from me, hugging herself. I watched the back of her neck,

"Leah..." She started shaking again,

"Don't remember I even said that, please, it's best for us."

"Leah, Please,"

"No Drew, no, it can't be that way." I rushed up to her, spinning her around to face me,

"Leah, I love you, please don't do this to me. Please, say your mine." Her lips parted and she looked shocked, mind racing.

"Leah," I paused,

"your keeping me awake at night, whenever I see you, I feel so alive." Her face softened,

"Don't lie to me." I put my hands on her thin shoulders, and leaned down, kissing her. She was ridged, then melted, wrapping her cold fingers around my neck. I turned my head to the side, to kiss her better, she was mine, I was screaming like I won the Super bowl in my head.

Wow, She was so amazing.


	24. running and hated jackets

Chapter 24-Leah P.O.V.

I looked out over the lake outside out back window, red knit blanket thrown over my shoulders, warm brown coffee mug, five pieces of coffee cake on the card table in front of me, Sitting on the cream colored couch. It was early in the morning, barely light out, the lake calm. I took a sip from my coffee, feeling its warmth trickle down my throat. Montana was really cold in the winter, and last night it snowed, bringing the temperature down again. I loved the cold, the look of the untouched snow, the pines coated in it, beautiful.

Belle used to love to take pictures of me, Adam, and Sage rolling around in the snow, covered in it from head to toe, absolutely soaked. I smiled at the memories.

I threw the blanket off me, and walked across the heated floor to my staircase, still clutching my coffee cup. I walked up the stairs, into my room; my room was totally white, White bedspread, curtains, and carpet. The only colored things were my space rug, doors, bookshelf filled with boxes and books (duh), and one or two throw pillows, were all red. They really popped in the washed white room. Even though I couldn't read, I liked to look at the pictures in the books, of animals and people, places and items that looked surreal on the pages.

Belle had picked everything, not trusting me to do anything that she would approve of, so she pretty much played interior designer, but that was years ago, when we still had parents. I shook off the thought. I put the coffee cup down on my nightstand, and went into my closet. I chose a pair of leather waterproofed pants and a white windbreaker, jeez, what was with all the white in my life? I pulled on the pants and windbreaker over my august burns red band tee shirt, which Belle constantly disapproved of, and I wore it sometimes just to irk her.

I looked at myself in the full-length mirror, frowning at my carved and pale complexion. The only thing I liked was my elbow length, thick, dark hair. My hair was my secret glory, I loved it, except it grew to fast, I always needed haircuts, and Belle loved to hack off my beautiful hair, styling it to however she wanted. It. Was. Torture.

She never let it grow longer than my elbows, despite my pleads to let it grow as long as it wanted. Our, as in my flock, hair grew about 3 inches a month, depending on what we ate and what we did. I pulled and the snug windbreaker, wishing it was looser, even though it cleanly hid my wings, I wished it were longer. Belle had picked it just for the reason that it hugged my waist and hips, like a care bear jacket, grrrrr I hate those things.

I once caught Kyle watching one of the old care bear tapes we have somewhere in our house, best day ever. I pulled my bow off the nails I pounded into my closet wall, to hang it on. I thought it was cool, considering I practically lived in my closet. I loved cozy warm spaces. That's why I liked our house, so secluded and cut off from the rest of the world, We didn't show up on Google maps, directory's, phonebooks, Kyle had hacked and deleted for hours, deleting us from any trace of society.

I lifted my bow off the nails, slinging it easily over my shoulder, pulling my new elk hide quiver from my vanity. I made it myself, it had taken me hours, Catching the animal, skinning on the cold ground, Sending Adam a message to come pick some meat off it so we could stay away from the city another day. I took the skin back home after washing it in the lake, measuring it like, five times, cutting, waxing the string with fat from the same elk, sewing the quiver closed, making it curved so it fit perfectly against my thigh, adding a strap to bind it down to my leg so it wouldn't make any noise when I ran through the forrest, chasing anything, climbing after cougars, sprinting after elk and deer. It would be so much easier now. I even made three pockets, double lined with thick back skin, for my hunting and throwing knifes. It was easier having them strapped with your arrows so all you had to do was reach down and throw them all in one swift easy motion. Yay! I'm so smart!

I fastened the quiver over my shoulder and waist, fumbling with the strap on my leg, which buckles in the back, and I was challenged with tying things without looking at them. I got it after about 3 minutes though. No worries.

I adjusted my bow in my back, watching the blades, not exactly anxious to cut my fingers on the long curved blades. I walked out of my closet, Into my ridiculously white room, Over to the red patio doors, opening them, feeling the harsh cold wind whipping at my cheeks. The windbreaker covered my wings, so I couldn't use them, but they were warm and out of the wind, Because the last thing I needed was a freeze burn under my feathers, making them turn dull and fall out, leaving sore red patches. And I'm not exactly interested in having my beautiful feathers fall out. I pulled the hood on my jacket over my loose wavy hair, and thin black grippy gloves on, Looking down at the ground, about 15 feet below me. I ground my teeth, I liked to cheat with stuff like this, using my wings to slow my fall, but I guess its better to have warm wings than sad wings.

I stepped up onto the ledge, scoping a path down to the ground. I leaped off the porch, onto the tree about ten feet away, latching onto a branch, swinging up onto a different branch, just above the one I had just swung on. Without looking, I dropped down, crouching in the deep snow, Wishing I had decided to wear thicker gloves. I stood in the deep snow, walking towards the woods, my moccasins crunched through the snow.

At the edge of the woods, I began to run, Sometimes I wish I could run forever, just run away from everything. But yesterday still replayed through my head endlessly. I felt so safe with Drew, he had taken down my walls, melted my ice, only for me to put up those barriers again.

He made me weak. The feeling was totally new to me, like learning another language. I had to block it out. I sped up my pace through the trees, Watching carefully for any targets. I heard a snap behind me. I spun around, seeing nothing. Turned and continued my sprint through the trees, constantly wishing my windbreaker was looser.

A Target appeared about 130 feet in front of me, I pulled my bow off my shoulder, loading an arrow, Aimed, released. I stepped foreword to check my accuracy, when I felt a sharp pain in my forehead, I clutched my head, brushing the hair out of my face, breathing deeply. Drew woke up, I could literally feel his presence in my mind.

Sometimes it scared me, scared my to think, about anything, knowing that he could so easily know everything about me, even if I desperately didn't want him to know. I couldn't feel what he was thinking, but what he was doing. Right now, he was heading in my direction.

I blanked my mind and swerved off my path, Leaping into the trees, retrieving my arrow from the target, pulling out an putting it back into my quiver, not even bothering to check where it hit.

"Leah." I jumped out of my skin, skittering down to the end of the limb I was perched on. Drew had sneaked silently up behind me, He continued to laugh at my reaction.

"Drew you freak." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Finding you is like playing hide and seek with knowing where you are.

"Your not fair."

"Life's just not fair is it?" no, it wasn't, defiantly wasn't.

"Are you hunting?" He asked, pointing to my bow and arrows.

"Yeah."

"Mind if I tag along?"

"If you stay quiet." He smirked at me, melting the ice, at first I welcomed the feeling, then pushed it away. He walked up to me, snaking an arm around my waist, whispering into my ear,

"Don't push me away, I wont hurt you." I frowned at his words, refusing to believe him, I couldn't, I couldn't be weak. I had to be strong for my flock, even if it meant pushing him away.


	25. Trees and blind love

Chapter 25-Drew P.O.V.

She pushed away from me, I frowned and trudged after her, She confused me.

"Well I came out here to hunt, if your not coming with me, then go home." her voice was so cold, I had lost her, The Leah from yesterday put up her defenses, and I had no idea why. She sprinted through the trees, and I trailed after her, watching as she tore effortlessly through the trees. I ignored the burning in my calves, and shifted my focus to moving swiftly with deliberately placed movements and steps through the trees, my black handled sword bumping my leg with every step. I was still pretty sketchy with my sword, my movements tended to be choppy and rough, and I did nothing to improve them.

I had only practiced with Kyle three times, and he always had me defenseless in no time at all. But if I were going to associate with Leah, I would have to really brush up on my skills. I picked my eyes up off the ground, finding Leah in the tall trees, My eyes landing on her windbreaker, tight around her waist and hips, her hipbones standing out sharply under the thin fabric, no no no, BAD THOUGHTS.

I closed my eyes, sprinting blankly after her, willing myself not to stare at her. This is when I run into a tree. Literally.

I tripped blindly over a root that must have been sticking up out of the snow, and fell headfirst into a tree. I fell back into the snow, hearing Leah skid to a stop in the soft snow. I turned my head to where she was, my face feeling twisted and fuzzy. She had her hand over her mouth, her eyes sparkled, and she was shaking with laughter, clearly entertained with my disoriented state.

"What?" I slurred out the word, but it sounded more like,

"whahdgjfgdgt?" She burst out laughing, clutching her sides, Her face turning from its normal porcelain to a bright red. She gasped laughs, and let me give you a piece of advice, If that girl starts laughing, You start laughing, and then she laughs at you harder, and its like a never ending cycle, her laugh was so contagious.

She stumbled over to the tree I had run into, still laughing, and pretended to run into it, using overemphasizing movements and waving her arms over her head, and ran into the tree just like I did, falling on her back in the snow next to me, still laughing her guts out and rolling around in the snow. I growled, and pinned her down by the arms when she rolled over to where I was, She stopped laughing, but was still shaking, and looked up at me, her blue eyes wide and laughing.

"That's not very nice, laughing at a nice gentleman." One corner of her mouth twitched up at me and I returned the look.

"Maybe you shouldn't have been running with your eyes closed, Stupid." I stood up, offering her my hand, which she took. When she tried to pull her hand away, I held onto it, and she didn't Object. I walked silently through the trees, pulling her behind me. I focused into her thoughts, Her mind wandering around the trees, not a single sound escaping her, nothing going unnoticed. She made me see the red squirrels hiding in the canopy, the deer skittering away into the woods, the paw prints of wolves and bear printed into the snow, the scratches of the elk's antlers on the trees, everything came into focus, Everything she saw bringing information about what was living in the area.

Then she paused, coming up next to me, Her hand extended in front of her, pointing at the trees, I focused my raptor vision, Seeing what I thought was a plain common falcon, then It took off, And I realized why Leah had pointed it out, It had the same wings as her, It was a peregrine, just like her.

"I didn't think they lived in Montana."

"Yeah, they don't" she continued walking, and I intertwined my fingers withe hers, sending bursts of electricity up my arm. We continued to walk slowly through the woods, the shadows everywhere cast leafy patterns all over the Forest floor. I looked down at Leah, her pale face and dark makeup and hair made her blue eyes stand out sharply against her face, Her blew out behind her.

I wanted to tell her how I felt, but she would just push me away again, I wouldn't let her though, I would never top chasing her, She would have to kill me to get rid of me.


	26. Burning

Chapter 26-Leah P.O.V.  
He intertwined his fingers with mine, making them feel like they were on fire, but not a bad fire, the kind of fire that you get when..I don't know. Well it wasn't bad that's for shure.

Drew always was able to make me forget why I had to push him away, why I couldn't tell him how I really felt with him, I didn't know what I was scared of, but he chased it away. I looked up at him, He stared straight ahead, looking around, his face showing no emotion. I stopped, pulled my had away from him, and sat down of a log,

"Drew, I need to talk to you."

"Okay..." He sat in front of me, in the snow-covered ground, looking up at me earnestly. I looked down, twisting my hands in my lap. They looked small and frail compared to Drew's rough tan ones.

"Whenever I'm with you, Ugh, where do I even start...My whole life, I've been fighting off these demons, the ones in here." I pointed to my temple,

"I've been able to keep them away, make them keep from bringing me back to what I used to be. Form the moment I saw you, I knew you'd be the closest I'd get to being close. I didn't know what do with that feeling, happiness." He looked up at me, his gaze breaking from the ground, which was totally interesting while I was talking.

"I'll fight them. They wont take you. I promise." His dark eyes fixed on mine,

"Do I have a bug on my face."

"No, and if you did I would squish it there and make a nasty stain." I wrinkled my nose at him,

"your disgusting." He grinned at me, I stood, brushing my pants off, And Drew stood with me.

"Fly with me?"

"As long as I have wings." His bold reply shocked me,

"So if I cut them off you would leave me alone"

"No, and you wouldn't be able to." That was defiantly true, He, like the rest of the flock, had beautiful wings.

"Will you unzip my coat?" His eyes widened, like I was asking him to jump off a cliff after eating cockroaches,

"No! I mean the slits in the back." he looked relieved, and I turned my back to him, pulling my hair over my shoulder so he could unzip the slits. He stood close behind me, so close I could feel the heat rolling off of him, and his distinct spicy pine scent filled my nose. He gently helped my wings through the slits, pulling them by the joints, not the feathers, holding them so they didn't twist or stretch. I shook them out, from being pressed between my back and windbreaker. I ran through the trees, listening for his quiet tread, making shure he would follow. Shure enough he was, and in a thin part in the forest, I opened my wings, pulling them up, and with one hard stroke, pushing them down, rising toward the sky, I scanned the horizon, catching a wisp of smoke, My heart pounded, the direction, Oh no.

"Drew!" I turned in circles, the voices in my head screamed, they weren't him.

"Drew!" I turned in frantic circles, feeling myself go weak, Drew caught up to me, Still shouting his name,

"Home! Drew!" He Flapped in front of me, shouting to me, Black helicopters appearing on the horizon.

"Leah! Go! Fast as you can, get them out of there, you can kill, you can fight it off! Ill be here for you, right behind you!" I nodded, feeling like a child, I raised my wings, pouring on the speed, shooting like a bullet to the smoke, everything becoming more nightmarish every second.

I reached the smoke, and slowed, circling, seeing out house, Burning, everything burning. The smoke got in my eyes, I saw dark blobs under the water of the pond, my flock. I folded my wings, Shooting down to the icy pond. I folded my wings, preparing for the icy rush.

I dove into the water, Opening my eyes wide, seeing all of them, tearing through the water, My lungs begged me for air, I let out some of the air in my lungs, filling them again with the extra air in my air sacs, feeling the instant relief of oxygen flowing into my lungs. I swam towards the dark blurs in the water in front of me. I reached the other end of the pond, Bursting through the surface, The voices screamed inside my head, images flashed in front of my eyelids, I stumbled onto the shore, I wanted to end it all, make the voices stop, make the demons go away, I pulled my self together, Then, like the sun in the fog, Drew's voice pierced the dark fog that was clouding my eyelids,

"Calm down lee, Its okay, I'm coming, Wait for me, I'm coming, Calm down." My eyes flew open, I heard uneven steps behind me, Pounding the shore, I looked to the woods, seeing the flash of Adams matte black mustang, The fiery paint of my bike, I turned, Fury overtaking me, My vision growing sharper, I turned, Seeing jackals charging me from the shore of the pond, I pulled my bow off my shoulder, our house burning in the background infuriating me more than I already was. I pulled an arrow out of my sheath, setting it on the string, Aiming at a distinct muzzle of a tiger jackal. I released the arrow, watching with glee as it penetrated the thick fur and bone, watching the mutilated animal stumble backwards, howling. The roaring of the fire, the howls, the crackling, the ever-increasing roar of a car engine, not the rippling of Adams mustang, but a van.

I continued to shoot, arrow after arrow, The pain of those who caused me pain, gave me a strange satisfying feeling, The roar increased, I whirled, And arrow on the string, A dusty black van with black windows, Skidded to a halt in front of me. The sliding door opened, revealing my favorite person, Take a guess. If you guessed Carlton, Wow, your good man. His white suit, clean as, I dunno, clean stuff, bothered me to no end. He spoke in an infuriating calm voice,

"Leah, where have you been sweetheart? I couldn't find you anywhere. You just disappeared." he cocked his head to the side. I curled my fists into balls, Squeezing as hard as I could, Trying to resist the urge to punch his starched white lights out. And if my day could get any worse, my second favorite person stepped out of the van, standing behind Carlton. And if you guessed Essie, then, my child, you win a prize! Yay for you! She curled he lip at me, hissing the words,

"Let me take her out, Knock. Her. Dead." I smiled bitterly at her,

"Oh sweetheart, that's so sweet of you, but lets get serious." I let my smile drop,

"I'm the killer here, look around, look at me, Look at Drew. I'm a cold blooded killer, and I take joy in killing those in this selfish world like you." Doctors poured Out of the van, Essie's face was blank,

"Fuck off Drew, Leah."

"How about we let Drew decide that." I smiled wickedly at her, a look of pure hatred bleeding over face, and she lunged at me, her bland wings flaring. I shoulder rolled behind her, Taking an arrow, sticking her in the side with it, and hurling another at a doctor, and another and another, Till one of them had an arrow in the eye, others in the throat, Another under the ribcage, And I pulled out my long throwing knifes, holding in position to be hurled at Carlton's heart. He looked around with a worried expression. His daughter collapsed on the ground on her knees, His doctors, killed like ants by a girl who was just an experiment to him.

"Leah, you were such a success, you're letting yourself down." I frowned at him,

"A success? I can do whatever I want, you little -" That little section I censored, for all of you innocent ears out there. I heard Essie cough behind me, I didn't even bother looking at her, instead focusing my eyes on Carlton, with every ounce of my being I wanted to kill him, tear him apart, dip his perfect white suit in his own blood. I felt my fist tighten on my knife handle, when I felt a warm hand enclose mine over the knife, soft voice breath past my ear,

"Lee, give me the knife, he doesn't deserve the honor of being killed by you, lets go." I turned up to the soft voice, Drew's worried face coming into focus. I released the knife, letting him take it, Letting him take my hand, and drag me towards the woods, I clung to his hand, like in a daze.

He saved me from myself, my own urges that I couldn't control. We came across the driveway, Not slowing our pace, sprinting down the way. The sound of Adams car and my bike appearing behind us, I saw Drew look behind us, Some of the stress melt off his face,

"Lee, swing up with Belle, I'll go with Adam." I nodded, I heard Belle come up next to me on my bike, I looked at her, Her head covered in a black helmet, She offered a hand to me, I took it, swinging up onto the fast bike, Plopping down behind her, careful not to hit her with the blades on my bow. She checked to see if I was okay, And picked up speed, racing down the long drive. Adam behind us, I knew Drew was in the car. I listened to what was going on outside us, There were helicopters racing to catch up to us, More black vans tearing down the drive way towards us. The screaming in my head began again, Voices and pictures, making me clutch into my bow harder.

A helicopter appeared over the bend of the hill we were going over, I opened my wings, lifting off the bike, Loading an arrow, and just as it was on the string, I was up in the air, I released the arrow, I pierced the windshield, Hitting the pilot, As the glass fell away, I flew around the chopper, watching below, as my flock wove around the helicopter as it crashed to the ground, exploding. Sages head appeared in the sun roof, and she opened her white wings, rising up to where I was, her buster sword in hand, More helicopters appeared on the horizon, She raced to them, ducking under rudders, slicing through them easily with her massive sword, The rudders flew off, spinning. I shot out pilots and gunmen, Sage Inflicting huge gashes in the protective armor That was supposed to protect to be protective, well at least they tried.

A van appeared behind Belle, I dropped down, When a panel slid back on the roof, revealing a turret, And began shooting at Belle, who swerved to the other side of he road to avoid the bullets, I reached down to my quiver, Finding one of my long throwing knives, Hurling it over my shoulder, catching it in the left wheel, Which hissed as its air was drained away, And the van squealed and spun wildly around the road. When it stopped, I swooped down, plucking my Long knife out of the thick black tire, Wiping it off of my jeans, Looking into to car, and my gaze was meet by my favorite person, again. I smirked at him, and flew off. Beating my gold and white wings into the wind, turning my face to the sun, Turning straight into it, Closing my eyes, The screaming voices quieted and faded, And the warmth took me over. Melting me over, drying my soaked hair and clothes, the sounds of bullets being fired echoing behind me. Fly into the sun.


	27. Explosions!

Chapter 27-Leah P.O.V.  
Back on my bike behind Belle, racing and weaving through the freeway, the vans behind us making a slow gain on us. I Leaned up to Belles head, shouting over the roars of the engines around us,

"Belle, Send Adam a message, I'm gonna take out the vans, You guys meet at the nearest McDonald's, we need food." She nodded solemnly, her face totally hidden behind the dark visor. I opened my wings, letting them carry me back behind the vans, I pulled them back in, hitting the pavement running, Putting all my speed into catching back up, they wouldn't expect an attack from behind. I leaned forward, Racing past cars, past snot nosed toddlers, teenage girls with their cell phones poised in their fingers, slack jawed parents, as I passed up sets of cars and mini vans.

I came up to the back of one van, Leaping like a cat on top of it, crouching on top of it, my knees wedged securely under the bars across the tops of the van. I punched the metal top of the van, creating a formidable sized dent. I punched it again, putting more of my weight into it, Feeling the skin of my knuckles begin to hurt, I punched it again, and I Felt the thin metal crumble under my fist, creating a small hole, I wrapped my fingers around it, Pulling at the metal, feeling it slice into my skin, as I peeled it back, until the hole was big enough for me to slip through, hoping this van wasn't full of jackals.

I dropped through the hole, and just my luck, the van was filled with men and women wearing white lab coats, with looks of terror painted on their faces. I recognized many of them, having experimented on me or tried to make me a successful diet plan, most of them just, lets say didn't work. I drop kicked the male doctor nearest to me, Flick kicking another about five times to me right, Switching feet to Spartan kick a female into another, A quick jab to another male, leaving him unconscious on the floor. I forgot how easy it was to literally destroy normal humans. I walked to the back of the van, where the doctors had a huge assortment of all kinds of weaponry.

I chose a rocket launcher, mostly because I had played Halo with Kyle, It was pretty crazy. I chose a small silver handgun that had a holster and what looked like a DMR. I crawled back out of the hole I had already made in the roof. I crouched low to the roof, Opening my wings slowly, Being pulled gently off the van, Flying low over the vans, I pulled the rocket launcher off over my shoulder, aiming at one black van, Pulling at the heavy trigger, releasing a long silver rocket, That slammed into the metal of the van, Blowing the whole thing up in an explosion of fire. Just like in the game! Luckily Most of the civilian cars weren't too abundant in this area.

I continued my fiery bombardment (haha, bombardment...)

on the black vans, till they were all smoky wrecks, all signs of past live charred bodies. All the helicopters had either retreated, or had been smashed up by Sage.

I zoomed foreword through the sky, finding Belle, swooping down next to her, signaling her to stop, mentally telling Adam to come over by us. Belle pulled to a stop, putting down the kickstand, pulling off her helmet, running over to me, throwing her helmet to the side, wrapping me in a hug,

"Oh my gosh Leah! I was so worried about you! When you jumped off your bike, and all the helicopters started blowing up and that van started shooting at me!" I pulled away from her, giving her a weak smile,

"I'm okay." She beamed back at me. Adam pulled up behind us, the rest of my flock piling out of his car. Kyle laughed,

"Leah's packin'!" I smirked at him, knowing that even though I resented guns with a passion, didn't mean I couldn't use them in times of need, not, I love guns. I glanced at Drew over Kyle's shoulder, he was leaning against Adams car, the early morning light catching his black hair and eyes. His tan skin flawless except for a fresh cut on his cheekbone. I walked up to him, washing myself in his smell, Wiping the blood that was dripping down his face with my middle finger, putting the finger in my mouth,

"sweet." I smirked at the shocked look on his face. And leaned against the car next to him,

"Thanks for saving me."

"Its my new favorite hobby. I smiled at looked down at my feet, the rest of the flock gathered around us.

"Leah, I don't think I've seen you smile so much." I looked up into Adams face, almost like looking at my own reflection, Man style, duh. Adam didn't look peeved about me and drew, but actually looked happy about it. Belle came and leaned next to me,

"what do we do now lee?" I furrowed my brow, not actually thinking about what we would do.

"Lets go to Vegas." Sages eyebrows shot up,

"Sin city?" I smirked at her,

"Base is set up in that area." She didn't look disappointed, and if anything, more excited. Kyle looked up from the rock he was hankie sacking with Adam,

"lets get going, That is, after I fix your face," He pointed to drew,

"Your fingers and lungs," He pointed at me,

"And your burns, "He pointed at sage, who threw her head back and groaned, and I noticed the burns on her right arm and shoulder, I'm getting really slow with this whole noticing stuff thing.

"What did you do?" I asked Sage, Clearly baffled on how she managed to get such extreme burns.

"I hit the fuel store on some chopper and it went BOOM all over me." She said it with such nonchalance, the burns didn't even seem to bother her in the least.

"Jeez, Sage do you even have nerves?" Belle's eyes bugged out at her burns,

"No, guess not." Sage replied airily, flipping her hair, mocking those city girls on TV. Kyle placed his palm on Drew's cheek, and when he pulled it away, the cut had disappeared, leaving a fine scar line. Crossing over to Sage, Placing a single finger on her shoulder, leaving us to watch in amazement and horror as the burnt skin morphed and flaked off, leaving clean, perfect skin on her shoulder, he added two fingers to his first, and slowly drew them down her arm, the same sickening flaking of her burned skin, replaced by perfectly new skin. Sage gasped and held her arm out.

"That's the weirdest nastiest coolest thing I've ever experienced." Kyle laughed at her, crossing the group over to me,

"Turn," He instructed me, and I obeyed. He placed a cold hand on my back, Just now noticing the rasping feeling in my lungs every time I took a breath. Kyle placed a cold hand on my back,

"Breath in." I took a breath, feeling my lungs squeeze, and then a cooling feeling spreading,

"Now let it out." I released the air, sliding smoothly out of my lungs, all signs of damage gone.

"What was wrong Ky?" He frowned at the nickname,

"You have severe smoke damage, Probably from home, And then you had sort of a crushed section in the lowest part of your lungs, from the water." I held out my bloody hands, Looking at the deep cuts in my palms, I kicked myself for not putting on my thicker gloves this morning. Kyle placed his hands on mine, and the stretching feeling as my skin was being pulled across the cuts faded, and only thick white scars remained. Kyle stepped back from all the healing, sighing.

"Okay, doctor's hungry, I declare we raid food generating areas!" I smirked,

"Agreed, McDonald's, follow me." I pulled my helmet out of the trunk of Adams car, noticing the other items my flock had managed to get out of our house. A quick change of clothes for everyone, including our leather jackets, and spare black hoodies, combat boots, endless amounts of metal plated fingerless gloves (my favorite), wool socks, and Carlton's wallet thrown on top. For whatever reason he hadn't canceled the card, idiot.

I yanked the guns off my back, removing all extra ammunition (because who wants a rocket going off in their car?). I took my bow off my shoulder more carefully, placing it gently next to Adams sword. I pulled the helmet over my head, slamming the trunk, receiving a death glare from Adam. Belle followed me to my bike, getting on behind me, pulling on her black helmet, the only difference was the red stripe down the top of mine. I kicked up the stand, pulling of the side of the road and back onto the highway, Adam close behind us. I decided that going the speed limit might be more discreet, and stick to a solid 65 mph. Adam still close behind us.


	28. crazy manager woman

Chapter 28-Leah P.O.V.

I slowed, veering to the side, and into the McDonald's parking lot. Sliding to a stop, Adam pulling up next to us in a parallel parking spot. I got off my bike, pulling my helmet off, shaking out my hair, I should have braided it. Sage popped the trunk, taking Carlton's wallet from he pile of clothes and shoes.

Belle bounced up next to me, a hyper mess after sitting so still for so long. I dragged her along with me into the greasy smelling building, And into the bathroom. I turned on the sink, Washing my hands and face, removing the dirt and dried blood. I looked up into the mirror,

"Belle, do have my makeup in your bag?" Her face lit up, she, for some odd reason, loved makeup; basically anything girly floated her boat. She handed me my eyeliner and shadow pallet, leaving my in peace to make my face epic. When I was done, I dragged her out the door, bumping into Sage.

"Comeon. What were you doing? Painting the bathroom?" I rolled my eyes, grabbing her wrist, dragging her with me to the counter. I looked up at the menu, trying out combinations that sounded slightly enticing, greasy food never agreed with me.

"I'll have three double cheeseburgers, with everything, a large fry, medium coke...and a hot fudge sundae." The girl behind the register looked up at me, raising her eyebrows. She handed me a tray and a cup, brushing me away to take Belles order. I stood at the counter, tapping my fingers on the plastic tray. Kyle, Adam and Drew were already sitting patiently in a booth with an extra table pulled up to accommodate all of us. A bag was placed on my tray, along with Belle and Sages, Sage handed the girl a card, looking around until the girl handed it back. I took the tray in one hand, weaving through the people and kids in the restaurant, plopping down at the table. Belle and Sage sitting next to me, taking their bags hungrily. I took mine, pulling out the packages and box-thingy of fries. Belle came back from the soda fountain, handing me a cup of lemonade.

"Smart girl Bellie, smart girl." I muttered to her, she rolled her eyes, whacking me with the back of her hand. Belle had known me long enough to know, never give me soda, .soda. It was too sugary, and I refused to drink it, no exceptions. I unwrapped one of the cheeseburgers, not even bothering to chew I was so hungry. This process continued through all three burgers, and I started to slow down once I started on my fries, tossing one across the table at Adam, who jumped and looked startled, raising chuckles from everyone around the table. I felt a hand on my shoulder, Making me jump and look up, a woman in her mid forties with ashy brown hair and a uniform looking down at me with disdain.

"Young lady, come with me." her voice seemed a bit off for her age, to high pitched. I rolled my eyes at Belle, who smirked back. My eye caught on Adam, who was tense, his pale eyes burned under his dark hair.

Leah, Be very careful with this one. Use. Your. Head. What is off with this situation? I furrowed my brow as I followed the lady, past the mothers and children, to some office at the back of the building. I hadn't done anything except throw food at my brother. She led me into a dimly lit room, only an old metal desk, a filling cabinet, and a floor lamp stood idle in the far corner, hardly filling the room at all. The woman leaned against the desk, her hands either folded behind her back, or concealing a weapon, possibly a taser, hopefully not a magnum, I'm fast, but not faster than a silver bullet. It shure would be great if I was, but I'm not. She shifted her weight to her other foot, looking too comfortable to be able to scream her head off about me about who knows what.

"Do you know why I asked to talk to you?" She narrowed her eyes at me,

"No ma'am." Her lip curled, and she drew a different type of handgun out from behind her, this one was black, not silver like the magnums. I put up my hands in mock surrender.

"Okay, okay, what do you want?" I asked her, hoping she wouldn't pull the trigger. She smiled, her grin melting away, her teeth pulling into her gums, revealing longer, more canine teeth, Her ashy hair bristling and spreading down over her face and back. She started to morph, her back curving, arms thickening and being covered with spotted, splotchy hair, Her leathery wings tearing out from under her uniform shirt. I watched with horror, I had no idea, not even in my wildest dreams, that jackals could resemble humans. I leaped to the side as she fired a shot at where I was standing, I cried out to Adam, Who responded without words.

I turned back to her, She charged me, I shoulder rolled to the side, ending up behind her, pulling my thin knife out of my boot, slashing at the bases of her wings, which are filled with nerves. She writhed, clutching her shoulder, screaming some sort of gurgley vocal noises.

She turned towards me, This jackal was way bigger than the other ones, taking up a lot of space in the room, but she was clumsy, and moved slowly, but I guessed if she hit me, it would have a whopping amount of damage that would come with it. She swung at my head, I bobbed under her arm, Slashing at her shoulder with my knife, She cried out again, Raising herself to face me, Aiming her gun at me, And, get this, I screamed. Not like, a little girl scream, like a blood curdling scream, I felt it shear past my lungs, Like a thousand tiny arrows, Shredding my throat, I continued, she clutched her ears, Every sound she made swallowed by mine. I stopped, the burning in my throat screaming. She stumbled, looking disoriented and crazy, her eyes on fire.

Adam burst through the door, and I mean THROUGH the door. He left shards of it flying all over the room, He flew through the air, pushing one end of his double sided sword straight through her ribcage, Blood spurting out of her back where the sword emerged.

"Adam, that's disgusting." He looked at me, his gaze stony,

"Its way prettier than my little sister blown up and spread all over the walls." I cringed,

"Yeah I'm gonna have to agree with you." He walked over to me, wrapping his arm around me shoulders,

"Come on, let's get out of here." He walked across the room to where the jackal slash manager was slumped against the wall. Adam pulled his double-sided sword out of her ribcage, wiping the blood off with a torn piece of the jackal's shirt that I had torn of with my knife.

"Come on." I followed him out the office door, the people in the restaurant staring at me with blank wondering faces, mother's frowning and shaking their heads as they glared at me. The walls of the office were cracked straight through, had I done that? One of the mothers had the guts to step between Adam, putting a sort of wall between my flock and me.

"And what exactly did you do to that nice lady?" I pushed her away from me, and she stumbled backwards, I took a step towards her, waving my long, thin knife in front of her face,

"I killed her." Her eyes bugged out at me, and she backed away warily. I turned on my heel, jogging out to the parking lot where Belle was waiting for me next to my bike.

"What happened? Adam told us to get out here and he stormed into that lady's office." She looked up at me as I handed her a black helmet. I furrowed my brow at her, pulling an identical helmet over my hair,

"Later." Her face was unreadable under the helmet visor. She climbed on the bike behind me, wrapping her arms around my waist as I revved the engine behind Adam, "I'm glad your okay." She said in a small voice and she buried her helmeted face in my back.

I smiled to myself, my flock always accepted me. Always.


	29. on to somewhere new

Chapter 29-Leah P.O.V.

We tore down the dusty roads, aimlessly weaving around cars and trucks. Adam refused to tell me where we were going, But only told me we were going east, which was kind of a huge no duh moment, as of everyone in my flock had sort of a built in compass. I looked foreword, straight at the red and pink sun, sending lines over the horizon. And I was stuck on a motorcycle on a cold, dusty road, on a Monday, and it was almost night time, and my house blew up. Jealous of my life yet? No, thought not.

I wanted to know why we were being attacked, and why our mostly normal lives at one point, were destroyed. At one point I would have done anything to get that life back, but that would mean giving up my wings, and that wasn't an option anymore, at least for me. Belle bumped her head on my spine between my wings, I flinched and she quickly raised her sleepy head. We had been doing the same thing for three hours, and Adam wouldn't tell me where we were going and I was getting pissed.

Adam, where are we going? 

Nowhere.

shut up, where are we going. No response, I looked up at the signs over the lanes that showed where we were going, Except, yay, the only words I knew how to read were, leah, Kyle, Adam, Sage, Belle, Mirabella, Drew, Surrender, Sign name here, death, and survive. That was it. What can I say, you spend your life on the run, you don't give a crap about words. The only ones of us who knew how to read were Kyle and possibly Drew.

The sun slipped down under the edges of the earth, Sending the sky into a dark shade of blue. Adam turned off the freeway, In front of a sign with trees and a tent of it. I followed him through what looked like a cave of trees. They leaned over the road, touching at the top, like a stick cave, because all the leaves were gone.

Adam stopped in front of an old, abandoned parking garage, and stopped his engine. I swung off my bike, walking over to him with Belle on my heels.

"Adam." I sent him my best death glare,

"tell. me. where. were. going." I folded my arms over my chest, but Adam looked unaffected from my death glare.

"There's an airport over there, beyond those trees," he pointed to a thick row of lowland evergreens.

"What do we need an airport for?" Adam opened the back car door, Letting out a sleepy looking Sage, and a more perky Drew and Kyle. Kyle popped the trunk, throwing his extra clothes into a blue skate bag, along with his knife belt and pulled his sword strap over his shoulder.

"pack up your stuff, were leaving all personnel vehicles behind." Kyle boomed, trying to sound like one of those Military guys in the movies. Adam pouted for a half second, before pushing open the two doors to the garage. I heeled up the kickstand to my bike, walking it into the garage, Pushing the stand down again with my foot when I found an adequate spot for it. I pulled the door down, leaving the garage to go back by Belle, who tossed me a purple skate bag, which I caught and unzipped, finding my favorite leather jacket, and a darkly colored pair of clothes, along with the rest of my hunting knives and an assortment of sizes of plastic bags.

I zipped it again, throwing it carefully over my shoulders and around my wings. The bags were small enough to fit between our wings without being to uncomfortable, but were big enough to hold a good amount of random junk that we usually accumulate.

Belle buckled her sword belt around her waist, Pulling a grey Bag over her wings, shaking them out when the bag was in place. I whipped off my backpack and windbreaker, tossing the windbreaker into my backpack, and pulled the backpack back on, leaving my in my August Burns Red saber tooth tiger t-shirt. I grinned evilly at Belle who cringed at me,

"You didn't." She hated this shirt, but it was my favorite, and I wore it just to annoy her.

"You'll get cold Leah." Belle sounded desperate for me to cover up my beloved shirt.

"No belie, I am cold resistant, and I love this shirt." I grinned at her again, shaking out my wings. I buckled my quiver of arrows and pulled my bow over my shoulder and wing. Adam pulled his car into the old garage, Running his hand over the top of it as he walked past it, I rolled my eyes,

"common lover boy, In shure your car will live." He glared at me and shut the door, walking ahead of me through the trees, in the direction he said was the airport. I followed him silently, the light footsteps of my flock almost silent behind me. We burst through the underbrush, the bustling sound of people and trucks made me want to turn around and run back into the woods, and hide there. I scanned the area, filled with planes, but which one would go where?

A semi-truck roared towards us, and Drew's hand fastened around my wrist just as I was about to make my attempt to bolt back into the woods. I looked up at him, His dark eyes blank. The truck rolled in front of us, Adam ran under it, followed by the rest of my flock, and Drew dragging me behind him. Drew let go of my wrist and I crouched under the truck, reaching out and grabbing some unidentifiable pipe under the truck and swung up onto it. Lets just say that it was really, really nasty. The truck came to a halt, and I heard voices, and the doors to the back of the truck opened, and the sounds of cardboard boxes being placed not-so-gently on the ground. The voices went over us in the truck, and came back out about a minute later. I looked at Adam, who nodded back at me. When the voices went into the truck again, We dropped down off the pipes, Running out from under it. I located the ramp that went into the cargo hold of a huge blue and red plane. I bolted towards it, up the ramp, stopping at the entrance, Only Belle and Drew had followed me, and Adam, Sage, and Kyle were still under the truck. I scanned the darkness under the truck, Only catching a glimpse of Sages curly red ponytail. The men appeared out of the entrance of the white box with brightly colored letters and and soda cans on the semi flatbed. They dumped the boxes on the ground, walking back into the truck, arguing about something irrelevant, like the economy. When they began to enter the truck again, Adam bolted out from under the truck with Sage and Kyle hot on his heels. We joined up at the entrance, and ran to the back of the cargo hold, climbing over a moving mountain of suitcases and bags, which I may assure you isn't easy. We managed to get to the back of the hold with out the truckers to notice us. One of the corners had a small area with no bags, I pointed to it, Sliding down the mountain of bags, and jumping down just before the floor, landing steadily on two feet. I looked back up, And Belle slid down, tumbling over herself, and Kyle who leaped off, opening his wings at the last second, catching enough air to steady his fall.

Adam simply walked down the suitcases like steps, leading Sage behind him. Drew walked behind them, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his face still but his dark eyes wandered all over the cargo hold. I turned away from his shape, frowning at myself.

Did I still have to much pride to think I could love anyone? I had only loved someone like him once before, but the two of them were polar opposites. Drew was so soft and subtle about everything. Nothing seemed to change him, he was just so caring, everything around him, just bouncing off his skin, nothing affecting him. The last one was probably dead now anyway.

One word to describe Drew was solid. The last one was the opposite, Drew made him look so frail and small. I shook the thoughts from my head as Belle walked up to me, plunking her head down on my shoulder, and sighing.

"Sleepy?" She nodded, and I sat down, leaning against the cold metal wall, feeling chills winding up my back, not from cold, but memories, cold, dark memories. I leaned my head back against the wall and Belle rested her head on my thigh. Kyle plopped down next to Belle, leaning against the wall like me, his eyes closed. Drew sat next to me, smiling faintly at me, a smile that warmed me, making me want to return it, which I did. I heard voices around where the entrance was, and I bolted upright, Instantly on me feet, scrambling up the pile of bags, until I was yanked back down roughly by the wrist. I writhed in the arms of whoever pulled me down,

"Stop squirming, just me." I looked up at Drew's tanned face, he released me, and I looked over the edge of the bags,

"Leah, are you going to put your knife away." I looked down at my hand, not remembering pulling the long thin dagger out of my boot. I tucked it back into my boot, peering over the bags again, two men wearing grey uniforms and safety glasses tossed more bags onto the pile. When they finished their bag-tossery, they turned away from were we, one of them pressing a red button. They scrambled off the ramp, stepping off it just as it began to raise up and close, sealing off the hold from the rest of the world. I ducked down again, jumping down from the pile of bags, down to the rest of my flock. Adam was looking at me intently,

"Are they gone?" I nodded, My throat still hurt, and talking didn't help much. Kyle frowned at me,

"Whats wrong now?" I looked at the ground, motioning three fingers towards my throat, frowning. Kyle stood up, walking over to me,

"Describe." I opened my mouth, my words sounded coarse and scratchy,

"throat, feels like I swallowed a porcupine whole."

"That's lovely." I grinned up at him,

"So? Fix me doctor." Kyle raised his eyebrows and Adam chuckled from his corner. Kyle placed two warm fingers on my throat, drawing them from my collarbone to my chin, them two in the side of my neck, a cold sensation climbing up my throat. I coughed, Kyle pulled his hand away from me,

"Thanks."

"No problem my queen." I smiled, whacking his shoulder with the back of my hand,

"What? you are!" I walked away from him, sitting next to Drew, who was leaning against the cold wall, my head came up to just barely above his knee. I whacked his leg,

"You tall Bird man." He smiled down at me, sliding down the wall, sitting next to me, slipping his arm around my waist, pulling me closer to him. I relaxed into him, leaning against his warm shoulder. His hand traced up my arm, encircling my shoulders, sending shivers up and down my spine. I uncrossed my legs, pulling them under me, nestling myself under his chin, breathing in his piney scent, smelling so clean in the cold, mechanical room. He gently rested his chin on the top of my head, and I looked around at my flock, Belle and Sage leaning on each other, Kyle leaning on Belle, and Adam sitting against the wall, propped up, his chin almost touching his chest, his eyes closed. I watched my flock breath, interesting I know, until Drew's Breath slowed and even out. I pulled my legs over his, stretching them from being tucked up under me. I sighed, closing my eyes, letting waves of sleep wash over me, pulling me out the present.


	30. milwaukee

Chapter 30- Drew P.O.V.

Cold. Cold and dark. That falling feeling, the feeling I had learned to love. Euphoria bleeding all through me. I opened my eyes, But nothing flooded in. The falling feeling went away, leaving me numb and cold.

I reached out finding nothing, stumbling through the darkness. I saw a light, a pinpoint. I sprinted towards it, a sickening, bloodcurdling scream filled my ears, making me run harder. The light engulfed me, and I was standing on a long, concrete, landing pad?

Leah was standing in front of me, wearing a red dress, which was weird because she hated wearing skirts, or anything fancy in general. But this one made her look like she had just walked out of the Renaissance fair. It was long, touching the ground, with a wide trim around the bottom of the skirt. Sleeves ended at her elbows, her dark hair falling over her shoulders in thick waves down to her waist, Her makeup was thinner and lacked the thick grey eyeshadow. Her wings were relaxed, the outer edges of them framing her shoulders.

Okay, there were two things wrong with this picture, her hair was too long, she was wearing a dress, her bow was strewn on the ground forgotten, she would never do that, she loved her bow, and lastly her dress was soaked in blood, coming from her stomach. Thick, dark splotches ran down the front of her dress, but her face remained motionless.

The wind howled by me, rustling my hair and wings. But she was unaffected, the wind seeming to blow right through her. Her face was impassive, totally blank, but it was her eyes that gave her away. They were filled with something terrible, she looked so torn up, so intensely broken. I took a step towards her, and another, till I was running, when I reached her, I shook her shoulder gently, her eyes looked up at me, torn, broken eyes.

"Leah, wake up, I love you, please!" Her shoulders shook under my hand, and the edge of her dress was engulfed in fire, I stepped away from her, her skirt was on fire, she spoke to me through her mind, but the words sounded real,

"Love, love love, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing." And the fire spread up her hair, over her head, and she was gone, leaving a pile of ash. I kneeled down in front of the pile, watching as the ash was blown away by the wind. When it was gone, I stood, my body suddenly feeling like it was made of lead. I turned, taking a step as I did, bumping straight into Essie, smiling wickedly at me,

"Where did she go?" She cocked her head to the side, smiling at me.

"Where did she go?" I stumbled backwards,

"Where did she go Drew? tell me? where is she?" I put my hands over my ears, pinched my eyes closed, trying desperately to block put her voice, but it continued to echo through my mind,

"WHERE IS SHE. WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER. YOU NEVER DESERVED HER. YOU. WILL. BE. HER. END!"

I gasped, jerked from sleep. I was sweating buckets, my heart racing a million miles per hour. I wiped the sweat off my hairline, leaning my head back against the cold, metal wall behind me. Leah stirred at my side, making me jump out of my skin.

"Holy..." I looked down at her, curled up into my side, Her head tucked in the crook of my elbow, Her legs thrown over mine. Both her hands clasped my left hand, and her hands. were. cold! Actually, It was nice, her cold hands felt good on my hot skin. She shivered against me,

"." I chuckled, if my girl translations were correct, sodircokungcoooeellldd, meant so fricking cold. I gently shook her by wiggling my arm. She rolled over, Lying face down of the floor, mumbling

"Noooooooo, Saaaaagggggeeeee, Gooooo ." I laughed,

"Wake up sleepyhead, its Drew." She groaned, opening her eyes and looking up at me, and closing them again,

"What time is it?" she mumbled, nestling into my elbow again. I looked down at my wrist, and if you thought I was wearing a watch, man. are. you. wrong. I don't wear a watch.

"I dunno, probably six." She sat up, arching her back,

"ugh, so why did you have to wake me up?"

"Because your shivering." She furrowed her eyebrows at me,

"I'm always cold, well not like I'm cold but my skin is cold."

"Oh, because that makes perfect sense!" I pushed her arm, And she laughed and tipped over, landing on her side, facing away from me.

"Hey, Lee?" She rolled over onto her back, her dark hair fanned out behind her head,

"Hm?" Her face turned to me,

"Are you ever scared of anything." My question was more a statement, and Leah turned her face back to the ceiling, closing her eyes, only the sound of the planes engines around us.

"Sometimes I'm not shure, other times I'm terrified, sometimes everything is backwards. Sometimes I feel like I was born backwards, words go by me backwards, the people I should love, I hate. The people I should save I kill. The places I should go I run away from. Sometimes I'm fearless, unstoppable, well actually that's what I am. A force, nothing but a mind in a killers body. I can turn insane and bloodthirsty at my own command, I'm like a machine, nothing happens to me if I don't want it to. But if things happen to me that I can't control, I go crazy." She opened her eyes and locked onto me,

"I thought I could save myself from anything." Her face was still, she just looked at me. She was so wild, like a wildcat. Unteachable. She sat up,

"Do you thing I'm crazy?" I looked over at her, her clear blue eyes tied to mine,

"No crazier than I am." She smiled weakly, looking down at her hands that were twisted in her lap, looking back up at me,

"Why aren't you scared of me." I smirked at her,

"Whats there to be scared of?" She looked up at me thought her dark lashes,

"The uncontrollable, crazy killer in my shell of a body." I smirked at her again,

"I can handle you, Get in your head, throw you around in different ways that other people can." She threw her wavy hair over her shoulder, scooting back against the wall.

"You haven't seen my wild side, and when you do, you wish you hadn't." I returned her serious look,

"I can handle anything." She furrowed her brow,

"I really don't scare you at all do I?" I looked at her, totally serious,

"I'm scared that it will be my fault when you meet your demise, when you fall past your head, it will be my fault. I have to be careful around you, I can't kill you, I know that's not physically possible, but I can weaken you, And I have to be careful." She frowned, she was extremely expressive,

"You wont kill me. Nothing can." I smiled at her grimly,

"That's what I'm scared of." She gripped my shoulder, her cold hand penetrating my skin.

".. I promise." She eyes were sincere, I looked at her thoughts, she really was, but she was angry at something, something I didn't know. She did scare me in some ways, how she wasn't in control of her own fury, how her own anger took her over, like a second nature. Belle rubber her temple and sat up, blinking sleep out of her eyes.

"Is it morning time?" Leah crawled across the floor,

"Yes it is sleepyhead." She wrapped Belle in a hug, resting her head in Belles shoulder. Belle yawned, letting Leah hug her,

"Someones feeling cuddly today, huh Lee?"

"Shutup. I'm not cuddly." Belle smiled, her hazel eyes scanning the room around her.

"Okay, get off me, I have people to wake up brutally." Leah unhanded her, and Belle Belly flopped on Kyle,

"Wake up, Stupid Idiot, your bony elbow is getting embedded into my stomach." He groaned, pushing her off him, rolling over. Belle whispered something into his ear, and his eyes shot open. He looked up at her, smiling evilly,

"Dude, hes gonna kill us!" She shrugged,

"So?" Kyle stood up, walking over to where Adam was leaning against the wall. He squatted in front of Adams face, and really let one rip. Adam cringed,

"for Fucks sake Kyle." Adam rolled onto the floor, clutching his nose. Adam and Belle writhed on the ground laughing, clutching their sides Leah stood, leaning against the wall, Shaking slightly, a smile winding over her lips. Sage, who was next to kyle, Her eyes flew open,

"Oh my gosh Kyle!" She clapped a hand over her nose, Scurrying across the Small area we were, cowered in the corner next to me.

"That's disgusting! Do you have a dead animal rotting in your intestines?" Kyle continued to laugh, and Belle kneeled next to him, gasping for air in between torrents of laughter. Kyle stood up, Running two steps where Kyle was, Opening and closing his wings fast, creating a gust of air that boosted him foreword. he tackled Kyle, catching him in a headlock,

"Your an icky icky boy!" Adam released Kyle, and pinched his sides, making Kyle writhe on the floor, laughing harder, struggling to try to get away from Adam. He was eventually released, and just lied on the floor, gasping for air, Adam rolling back on his heels looking pleased. Leah pushed herself off the wall,

"Okay guys, theres minor turbulence, and were making a steady decline. Everybody pack up, Get your stuff together, See if you can smell anything in the suitcases, get anything you can carry that will benefit your life. That means find a deodorant Adam." Adam rolled his eyes, Pulling his sheath over his head. Sage approached a purple flowery case, pulling it out of the pile, unzipping the lid, and pulling out a coach wallet. She looked up at us, "Will this work?" a grin spread over her face, and Leah returned it,

"Yeah, good find Sage." Sage stuffed the Wallet into the middle pocket of her backpack, tucking into the folds of her clothes. I slung my sheath over my shoulder, pulling in my right wing so the strap wouldn't catch on the soft feathers. I pulled my backpack over the strap, shaking out my wings into a relaxed position. Leah and her flock ha their stuff on, and Sage motioned me over to where they were sitting in a circle. I sat between Kyle and Leah, everyone was sorting a game plan of sorts. Leah was the first to speak,

"I say we run out as fast as we can when the door opens, break for the sky, find out where we are, go from there." Adam nodded in agreement, but Kyle spoke up,

"I think we should hold our own, what if they start shooting at us?" Belle rolled her eyes,

"Not everyone just happens to carry a gun at the airport, isn't that not allowed anyway?" I nodded,

"Yeah, passengers cant carry guns or ammo with them." Kyle sat back, bracing himself on his arms.

"Then we go with cap-I-tans plan, as usual." He reached over me, bumping Leah's shoulder with his fist.

"Duh, Ky Ky, because I'm the smartest." he rolled his eyes, and Belle chuckled. The plane began to decline, sending us tumbling backwards. I hit my head on the wall, But Leah had managed to right herself back on her feet, bracing against the wall instead of knocking into it like the rest of us.

"Hurry! get to the ramp thingy!" I pulled myself off the ground, Opening my wings to leap easily over the wall of bags. The sounds of the flock stumbling over the sliding masses of bags. The turbulence of the plane made the bags shift every which way. Stumbling was no longer an option, and I resorted to leaping over the bags, soon reaching the entrance. The rest of the flock skidded to a stop behind me, And we automatically went into diamond formation. Leah at the front, me behind her at her right, Adam behind her at her left, Belle behind me, Sage behind Adam, And Kyle taking up the back. leah looked over at me, her Blue eyes glued to mine,

I'mscared Drew, what if they followed us? I smiled at her,

Its okay, I'm right behind you, Don't worry. I'm here. She looked forward, setting her jaw, her hands balling up into fists.

Don't let me lose it.

"I promise." She looked back at me, A genuine smile lighting up her face,

"Thanks." I smiled back at her. The plane gained momentum, until it slammed into the ground, I braced myself with my back leg on instinct, but Leah hadn't changed her strong position. The plane slowed, and the pressure built up on her head. I guess I understood how she felt, She didn't have anyone to follow, to give her commands. I braced myself for the door to open, waiting. The plane turned and moved, and finally stopped, the engine died and became silent. We stood still, making no sound, not even our breathing penetrated the silence. Voices appeared in the distance, steadily growing closer, drawing near to the back of the plane.

I heard the mechanical clanking and grinding of the metal levers that must have raised the ramp. A strip of light appeared on the top of the opening ramp, and steadily grew wider. The wind whistled through the opening, and the light washed over us, the cold wind blowing through my hair and wings. I was glad I had my leather jacket on, but Leah should have worn hers instead of just her tee shirt. We were able to see out of the opening, see the clear blue sky, the long landing pad, the airport to our right, with its row of shining windows.

"Now!" Leah's voice pierced the air, and I immediately lunged forward, following her down the ramp. The workers who I had heard outside shouted and scuttled away from us as we bolted out of the plane. We ran towards the flat green area, away from the planes and the airport. I heard sirens behind us, three police cars, their sirens wailing as they pursued us down the blacktop. Their shouts pierced the silence, And the pop of a gun followed,

"Spread out!" the command was harsh, and at the sound of Leah's voice, I veered to the right, turning around to face the Police cars that were following us. Something was wrong with this situation. They don't have police cars on the tarmac at airports.

I drew my sword, and The shiny silver magnum peeked out of the cracked window, the signature gun of main base. A shot fired, and a shoulder rolled to the right, Pushing forewords on my left leg, sprinting towards the car, It drove straight at me, the gun firing repeatedly. I veered, and waited for the car to get close enough. It drew closer, and I leaped forewords, landing on the windshield. I peered in through the tinted window, the pale shocked faces of un-morphed jackals. I raised my arm, striking the windshield with the heel of my palm, watching the glass fall into the car, One of the jackals cursed me, holding its arms over its face as the glass showered over them. I scrambled onto the roof of the still moving car, Standing up, I looked forward watching as Leah slowed her sprint, looking back at me,

"Go! Fly away! I'll catch up!" She faced forward again, her lose hair swishing around her head as she turned, Opening her wings, lifting effortlessly off the ground with one graceful sweep of her wings. I Leaped to the next car, forcing my blade through the thick metal of the cars hood. The engine sputtered under me, I snapped open my wings, lifting up fast as the car exploded under me, throwing the third car to the side with the force of the blast. I opened my wings to their full length, feeling the thick muscles in my back stretch as I forced my wings to carry me fast to the forms in front of me.

I lifted and retracted, my wings had been folded down to my back for so long, they felt stiff and sore, but I loved the feel of the air whipping through my hair. I Caught up to the flock, taking my place behind Leah, who looked back at me, a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth before she turned forward again. I matched my pace to hers, raising my wings at the same time she did. Her clean movements as she sliced through the wind, the gold undertones looked brown in the morning darkness. I looked down, the area we were flying over was covered in trees, not like the evergreens of Montana, but brightly colored maples and tons of others I didn't recognize.

"Where are we?" I called back to Adam, who shrugged, his inky black wings matching his hair. I rolled my eyes, vampire king returns, seriously, screw Edward, real guys don't glitter.

Leah angled her wings down, slowly losing altitude. She looked around,

"I know where we are." I felt my eyebrows rise,

"Where?" She stopped and hovered, her wings making fast up and down movements. The rest of us hovered next to her, in a loose circle.

"Were in Milwaukee." Sage laughed,

"you mean Wiskansin?" I laughed at Sages accent. An English girl tying to sound like she was from Wisconsin, good one.

Whoa, I just realized, Kyle, Belle, and me were the only ones in the flock who weren't from England. Bummer. Belle clapped her hands,

"lets go to door county! Their's a bunch of parks we could hide in!" Leah nodded,

"Sounds good, lets check it out. It might be a long fly though." Belle folded her arms across her chest,

"Can't be much worse that Vegas to Montana in the middle of the night." Kyle spoke up,

"Good point, nothing we can't handle." Leah smirked,

"Got that right." And so we were on our merry way. Door county, get ready for the weirdest run aways you've ever seen.


	31. Camping like normal humans

Chapter 31- Leah P.O.V.

We had been flying on two hours of sleep, for about four hours. Don't get me wrong, we can be pretty speedy and my sense of direction is fantabulous, but lets be serious, have you ever ran for four hours? Thought that. We had been following a shoreline, covered in brightly colored foliage for about three hours, and we were bored hungry, the sun had just come up two hours ago, and our house burned down. What gets better? We had chosen to go to Door county for whatever reason, and off we went. We made frequent stops, looking at signs, Picking our distance from there. So far, I guessed we had about half an hour to go, and thank my lucky stars for that, because Kyle's little aggravating questions never got boring, that is if you're Kyle.

"Welcome to...door...county...! There Leah! Were there!"

"You mean were here."

"Shut up." I looked back at Belle, who had crossed her arms over her chest. I looked down at the winding road below us,

"Adam, check for any people in the area." after a pause, Adam confirmed,

"Nobody. Jeez does anybody even live here?" I pulled in my wings, the ground growing closer to my feet. I righted my self at the last second, flapping twice before touching the ground. I heard the feet of my flock tapping the ground behind me. I pulled my backpack off my shoulders and over my wing, digging my jacket out of the wad of clothes.

"Kay guys, jackets. Put on your normal disguises." We pulled our jackets over our wings, no problem. The only problems were our weapons. How do you hide a bow with twenty inch blades on each end under a jacket? I have no idea. Belle had managed to slide her double holster up onto her waist, and kyles knife belt fit easily into his backpack. The rest of us would have to manage.

Sages buster sword, Adams double ended sword, Drew's longsword, and my bow were more of a problem.

"Well be fine guys, why would the base people look for us here anyway?" Drew shrugged, jogging up next to me. We walked on the side of the road, past campsites, a lodge, eventually ending up at the edge of a town. We just stood there, staring at it. No way, would we get through there without getting noticed, not possible.

"How do we get through?" Drew looked down at me, the wind throwing his long black hair over his forehead.

"We go through." Sage looked at me with wide eyes,

"Um, Leah, we happen to be traveling with heavy weaponry." I breathed in deep,

"Well its not like we can go over it, or around it." I walked forward, staying on the edges, which of course were crowded with people, great, but none of them seemed to notice us.

"Hey! goats!" Belle pointed to a rooftop covered in grass, with a grey goat staring straight at me. I slowly pulled my bow off my shoulder, but a rough hand on my shoulder stopped me. I looked up to Drew, his eyebrows furrowed at my compulsive action. I whipped my bow back onto my back, ashamed at my instant instinct to kill. I would never get away from who I was. never would be able to. I felt Drew's hand trace down my arm, from my shoulder to my hand, interlocking with my cold fingers, gently pulling me along with him, actually leading me.

No one had ever been my leader, I just realized. But here was this boy, leading me around like I was chained to him. I couldn't fight him. He pulled me along, following Adam down the road, towards the thick smell of woods. huzzah for trees, they rock. We stood at the edge of the trees, I paused as my flock bolted into the woods, one at a time, while I watched for people. I pushed Drew towards the trees, As a little girl appeared around the corner of a building, her jaw dropping when she saw me. I smiled at her,

"Keep a secret?" She nodded quickly, her blonde pigtails on either side of her head whipping around her face. I smiled again, sprinting into the woods, gaining as much speed as I could without putting myself on a crash test collision course. Trees whipped by me, blurs as The barely colored forms of my flock zig-zagged through the shadows of the woods, the only colors showing were the dark backpacks and Belles and Sages blond hair.

I easily caught up to them, bolting through trees. I held up my arm, signaling a stop. I slowed to a walk, hearing my flock slow behind me, Their heavy breathing shattering the silence of the orange and yellow trees. I wasn't out of breath, and neither was Drew, he must be used to chasing after me in the woods.

"Okay, about a two hour walk to peninsula park, its getting dark, what do you guys want to do?" Belle plopped down on a dead log, cradling her head in her hands,

"I wanna go to bed." I smirked, pulling Belle up by her arm, dragging her along with me, her swords clanking against the buckles of her sheath.

"Okay sleepyhead. Think you have enough energy to climb a tree?" She nodded,

"But I'm hungry too." I furrowed my brow, we hadn't eaten in over five hours, duh we were hungry. I dumped my backpack on the ground, keeping my bow and quiver on.

"Okay, Adam, find wood, make a fire. Drew, you come with me hunting. Kyle, help Drew." Drew stood next to me, heat rolling off his body in the cold twilight. Adam nodded at me, turning away to gather wood.

"Ready?" Drew smiled at me,

"yes captain." I punched his arm lightly, jogging silently through the woods with Drew next to me.

"I don't hear anything, its so quiet." Drew whispered to me, I nodded, whispering back,

"The road isn't far, The animals might live farther inland, away from all the noise." He nodded, and I continued our faster pace through the woods. A red squirrel scurried up a tree ahead of me,

"Drew, Squirrel, Can you hear them?" I turned my face to the trees, hearing the branches rustle as the squirrel leaped from branch to branch. He turned his dark eyes to the canopy, instantly locking on the the small red animals location in the branches.

"Animal got ninja skills." I smirked, crouching in a hunting position, my bow in my hand, with an arrow poised on the string, ready for a lightning fast attack. Drew's velvet tread behind me made no noise on the crunchy leaves, and I had to look over my shoulder a few times just to make shure he was still there. I paused, hearing tiny hooves making their way through the thin underbrush.

"Up, go!" Drew easily scaled a tree, as easily as the red squirrel. I turned, climbing the strange branch-less trees, with tufts at the top full of needles. From the top of the trees, a doe and her fawn wove their way into the tiny open space we had been standing. Her Huge brown eyes surveyed the area, then lowering her head to lick up the salt that must have been on the ground. Drew's foot slipped, making a rough sound on the bark of the tree. The doe looked startled, looking straight at me.

I held my breath, looking back into the soft eyes. The harsh alarm left her eyes, and she walked slowly away from the clearing, her fawn trailing daintily after her. I turned my head back to face Drew, laughing at him,

"What? My foot slipped, not like you have that problem, you stick in the trees so quietly, you little wildcat." I wrinkled my nose at him,

"Its merely a skill matter." He rolled his eyes,

"Come on Wildcat, I'm hungry." I laughed at him once more, before dropping from the tree, landing in a crouched position, one hand on the ground, the other keeping my bow from thunking on my back when I hit the ground. I looked up at Drew, who looked down at me uneasily.

"Oh come on, you've jumped off higher." He shot me a challenging glance, Releasing the tree, flaring his wings to soften his landing.

"See? Not so bad."

"Oh shut up." He punched me lightly in the shoulder and snickering. I held a finger to my smiling lips, and he returned the gesture playfully, poking my forehead and smiling, Making my heart melt, and my face threaten to blush. We walked through the woods, me catching scents, following them till I would lose them, frowning in frustrating. I turned into a musky scent of bear, knowing it had been well over a half an hour since we left the rest of the flock. I heard a faint crackle behind me, and my arrow was pulled back, and released, piercing a large brown rabbit, which struggled on the ground screaming, my arrow lodged in its eye. I looked up at Drew smiling, Who returned the gesture by wrapping a warm arm around my shoulders,

"Nice shot wildcat." He placed his nose on the top of my head, breathing my scent. I closed my eyes, pulling his piney scent through my nose, absolutely intoxicating. He pulled away from me, and I dashed to the rabbit, pulling the bloody arrow from its eye, a clean kill, the shaft clean of blood, leaving only the engraved tip coated in the rabbits sticky blood. I wiped the blood of on a leaf, sliding the arrow back into my quiver. I picked up the rabbit by the head, it must have weighed 15 pounds, I mean this thing was HUGE.

I tucked its head under the waistband of my quiver. Drew bent to examine the rabbits eye, which was cleanly pierced, leaving a trail of fresh blood down its soft face hair.

"Its a pity, that something so cute has to be sacrificed for someone as filthy as you." I whacked him with the back of my hand,

"I'm not sharing with you." He laughed,

"You wouldn't"

"I would, Without mercy." I turned away from him, Feeling his arm slide around my waist,

"Your crazy." I leaned into him, rocking back onto my heels.

"Well I think your the crazy one." He laughed again, his chest vibrating against the back of my head.

"Only crazy without my crazy cat." I leaned back to look up at him,

"Why aren't you scared of me. I could kill you if I wanted." He rested his lips on my hairline,

"Because I know you wouldn't." I closed my eyes, feeling the electricity shock my spine with every syllable he spoke.

"I guess that's true." He lifted his head, uncoiling from me, leaving me feeling cold. I used to embrace this feeling, But now the cold felt foreign. I had learned to love the warmth Drew possessed. He took my hand, Interlocking my fingers with his,

"Common Lee, everybody gonna kill us if they get any hungrier. I smiled down at my toes, letting him lead me through the woods.

I heard the familiar voices thought the trees. I took a quick step to catch up to Drew, walking next to him instead of behind him. The light of a fire looked welcoming through the dark shadows of the trees. I Stepped past the last tree, And Sages face turned up to us from where she was sitting on the ground, a pale blue blanket thrown over her shoulders,

"Catch anything?" Her green eyes Looked up at me, the freckles on her nose flickered in the firelight. I held up two rabbits, we had shot the second on the way back, a smile breaking over Belle, Kyles, and Sages faces. Adam took the rabbit from me,

"Good catch Lee." Adam smiled down at me, And turned away to skin and section the animal. Belle looked at me across the fire, winking at me, and I quickly pulled my hand away, feeling the blush creep across my face. Sage chuckled, and Drew went to sit next to Kyle. I circled the fire, snatching my backpack as I went to sit between Belle and Sage. I unzipped the front pocket, Pulling out a red wool blanket, draping it over my shoulders.

"Scoot scoot!" Belle, nudged me with her elbow, and I opened the blanket to her, letting her snuggle under my blanket, pulling it over her shoulder. Adam handed Sage (also now known as his girlfriend, Quick memo.) a stick with a long piece of rabbit on it.

"I found some bear berries, pass those around, too." Sage leaned around me and Belle to tell Adam where the berries were. Adam nodded, handing me and Belle our sticks to hold over the fire to slowly roast in the yellow heat. Adam passed Sage a handkerchief of the Bear berries, and she shoveled them into her mouth, talking with her mouth full,

"I'm so hungry, I could eat Kyle." Kyle narrowed his eyes at her,

"I dunno Sage, I might be kinda salty." She wrinkled her nose at him,

"okay Kyky." I reached over Sage, scooping up a handful of the dark purple berries. We had found bears eating these in Montana, and survived with them before the base caught us. I popped the sweet berries into my mouth, their thin skins tearing to reveal their sweet insides. I glanced across the fire, watching Adam as he carefully scrapped the rabbit skin, removing any traces of fat or meat. I gnawed on my meat, its dull smoky taste penetrating the syrupy taste of the berries. A shard of bone caught in my teeth, and I pried it out, flicking it into the fire, which seemed to swallow it, but didn't burn it. I unbuckled my quiver from my leg, placing it next to me, my fingers lingering over the soft elk skin. I reluctantly pulled my bow from my shoulder, pulling in my right wing, carefully avoiding the long blades. I set it down next to my quiver, The long iron blades glimmered in the harsh fire light. I leaned back, my head resting on the cold grass. Up between the trees, the sky, a dark shade of navy blue, tiny diamonds winking down at the earth. I didn't know much about the sky, or anything for that matter.

I had forgotten everything from my early years of elementary and middle school. Everything except the important stuff, like the stuff you learn in gym class. Like boxing or leaning forward when you run. Stuff like that, as for math and English, they can kiss my ass.

I looked back up at the sky, the trail of smoke, the dark shadows of the trees, their shadows flickering in the firelight. I closed my eyes, willing myself to sleep, waves of exhaustion shattering the stress and tension.


	32. chasing animals

Chapter 32- Leah P.O.V.

Open, Roll over, sit up, search blindly with eyes closed for my bow. That was all I did this morning, the early dew making my head and hair damp and heavy. I looked around, my flock, even Belle, were softly breathing, curled up in darkly colored blankets.

The remains of the fire, dead long ago, weren't even smoldering in the cold morning. I bent down, easily touching my toes through my moccasins. I pulled the laces tighter, tying them over my wool, horse patterned socks, at the top. I gripped the hair at the back of my head, arching my back, which popped, yum.

I whipped the tie off my long braid, trying my best to re-braid the tangled mess of wavy brown. I ended up with something that looked like a bunch of snakes that got tied up by some happy genetic scientist back at base, gross.

I threw my less than perfect braid over my shoulder, Pulling the sleeves on my leather jacket farther down my wrists so it hid my pale hands. I scooted over to the remains of the fire last night, picking up a stick lying near Kyles leg, poking the ashes and stirring them around in the ring of stones that Adam must have arranged to keep the underbrush from starting a forest fire.

"Good morning beautiful." I jumped at the sound of Drew's voice in the silence, but he chuckled at me and sat up, stretching.

"ugh...aren't you cold?" I shrugged, ducking my face down between my knees so he wouldn't see my face, because its possible that my eyeliner was running, and he made me self conscious. I whipped under my eyes with my fingers, removing whatever junk I thought was there. Shrugging my shoulders,

"not really."

"Why are you hiding?" I looked up at him, his head tipped slightly to the side, cross legged, his grey hoodie hung off his shoulders. I straightened,

"I'm not hiding." One corner of his mouth twitched up,

"Don't worry about your face, you look Beautiful." He smiled at me, and I felt my cheeks burning. I had totally forgotten he could read my mind. I yanked my braid over my shoulder, twisting the end around my fingers.

"I really wish you wouldn't do that." He smiled at me, my blush fading,

"Well sometimes I think its my fault, so I'm really just checking." I frowned,

"Nothing is ever your fault." He laughed, and I stood up, stepping over the fire pit next to him. When I stepped over, he drew me into him, pulling me into his chest, his arms around my back, just under my wings, drawing tiny circles in between them. I sighed into him, and hugged him back, my arms only reaching just above his waist. He rested his chin on my head, his warm breath rustling my hair with every breath. I closed my eyes, not caring if the rest of my flock woke up, I felt so...secure.

"I'm glad you feel safe." I pulled back to look at his face, but he didn't let me go.

"You promised me you would." he smiled down at me,

"I hope I'm doing a good job." I smiled back up at him, and settled into him again, breathing in his distinct piney smell.

"Your cold as ice Wildcat."

"So?" He released me, taking his warmth and smell with him, leaving me feeling naked and alone.

"So, lets go get wood and get the fire going again." I huffed,

"fine, because taking care of my family is just SO detrimental to my mental stability." I reached down, picking up Drew's black sword sheath from where he wrapped it in a blanket.

"Sword protective much?" he stuck out his bottom lip, taking the sword from me,

"Don't judge, Sourpuss." he huffed under his breath mockingly, while pulling the leather strap over his shoulder.

"ready?" He asked, and I grinned back at him,

"More ready than you ever where." I darted into the trees, hearing Drew's laugh behind me, and his fast footsteps on the autumn leaves. The sun was barely up, and was casting the long shadows of the trees across the thinner spaces on the forest floor. Drew called up to me,

"Where are we going?" I called back,

"Looking for wood."

"Running is very effective for looking!." He had a point, and I slowed my pace to a walk, barely fatigued.

"You know what your looking for?" Drew jogged up next to me,

"Duh, Old dry wood, like that." I pointed to a tree that had fallen and the bark was coming off in sheets. I walked up to the tree, yanking on the white peeling branch, which snapped off when I hung from it. I dropped it to the ground, hanging on random branches, breaking them off till I had about five. "That should be good for this morning." Drew nodded, scooping all of them up.

"Lets head back, They should be waking up soon." We headed back, our footsteps quiet, so we wouldn't startle the tiny red squirrels. I heard a rustle in front of us, the sound of leaves moving. I held up my hand for Drew to be silent, Pulling my long hunting knife out of my quiver sheath, holding it in a downward, more powerful position. A buck daintily stepped into the clearing, his huge eyes scanning the tiny gap in the thick underbrush. I crouched in the thicker underbrush, and Drew crouched next to me, Pulling his sword out of his black sheath, His jaw setting and his glare cold. I put my hand on his arm, shaking my head, mentally speaking,

"We don't want to hack it up, just leave a clean kill. I'll get it." He nodded, and looked forward, responding, his voice echoing in my head,

"I'll follow you anywhere it takes you." I felt my cheeks grow hot, and I clutched my knife harder, forcing the blush away. I stared at the animal, waiting for it to be close enough to have an effective chase and kill. I gathered myself, tucking my legs under me, launching myself forward. The strain of every muscle in my legs forcing me forward.

Fast steps over the leaves, arms pumping, steady breaths, hunting knife, clutch turning my knuckles white.


	33. Da woods part 2

Chapter 33-Drew P.O.V.

She leaped from next to me, a hawk cry tearing from her throat, throwing her whole body into the leap. The deer looked up at her, momentarily, terror in its huge eyes, before bounding away into the woods, with Leah not far behind it. Her long hunting knife clutched in her fist, Her face cold, some twisted sort of blood lust blooming on her face.

I sprinted parallel to her, watching her, all the while struggling to keep up to their outbreaking pace. Leah hawk cried again, leaping into the trees, leaping from tree to tree, just as fast as she could run, amazing, the way she would stretch out to catch a branch, scramble up, leap to the next. She leaped down from the tree, arms extended, and caught the deer around its short neck, it writhed under her weight, and Leah forced it onto its side, raising her blade, and forcing it into the thrashing animals throat.

It became still. She stood up over it, breathing heavily, her knife coated with the deers blood. She turned back to me,

"That's how you hunt." I jogged to her side, draping my arm over her shoulders,

"Your full of surprises Wildcat." She smiled up at me,

"Yeah, what about you?"

"Definitely not as many as you, trust me." She laughed, crouching down by the still body, and by the front legs, pulling it over her shoulders, she looked strange, a muscly girl, with a full grown deer slung over her shoulder, with fresh blood dripping down its neck. I couldn't help but smile at her. She grinned up at me,

"Ready to head back?" I nodded,

"Definitely, the rest of the flock shouldn't be up yet, this will be a surprise." She smiled,

"Yeah, Kyle especially, he was still complaining about being hungry before he fell asleep wasn't he?"

"Yeah he was." Leah placed the deer on the ground, Looking up at me, I let my arms encircle her waist, she reached up, placing her arms on my shoulders, fiddling with the baby soft feathers on my wings where they met my back.

"Why do I fascinate you?" I looked down at her, her eyes locked on mine, catlike, piercing blue color.

"You don't fascinate me, you just make me feel alive." She looked down at her feet, breaking her gaze from me,

"Is that bad Drew?"

"No, It just means I love you." I reached down to her, tilting my head to kiss her, but she placed a finger on my lips, "Just so you know, I feel the same." She pulled her finger away from my lips, reaching up to my level, her lips crashing into mine, her closed eyes quivering.


	34. Peninsula State park

Chapter 34-Leah P.O.V

As soon as I stepped into the clearing, I was brutally attacked by my food crazy flock. Kyle hugged me, mostly the deer I had brought back, and Belle hugged my other side, Sage just smiled up at me when she saw the deer, and Adam from next to her. Kyle picked up me and Belle for a second before thunking us to the ground again,

"Oh man! you guys are fat." I kicked Kyle,

"Way to thank me for saving you from starvation KyKy." He rolled his eyes, releasing me from his hug,

"Oh shutup Leah." I smirked,

"Fine! You get your own food from now on!" Kyle hugged me again,

"No not that again! I almost died!" I smirked,

"I win. And he submits to my perilous rule!" Kyle rolled his eyes again,

"Just make me food." I chuckled to myself, Kyle would never be able to me more threatening than me, ever. I pulled the deer off my shoulders, placing it on the leaf covered ground. I pulled out one of my shirt knifes from my quiver sheaths, The clean, rarely used blade shone in the early morning light. I made the cut down the throat of the deer, down in stomach to clear out the intestines. Ill save you the yummy details.

Adam sat across from where I was butchering the deer,

"there's a hiking trail one hundred yards north-west, If we follow it, we should be able to find some sort of information place." I nodded at Adams information, he continued.

"The hikers who walk through here left some tracks, It must have rained two days ago, and dried hard, the earliest tracks made were about noon yesterday, and the last at about six fifty. I think we should start packing in about two hours." I nodded again, absorbing Adams information. He was an excellent tracker, way better than me.

"Sounds like a good plan, how about you help me with this, get it done faster." Adam scooted around the body to my side, using his own knife to cut the skin away from the fatty layer underneath, cutting out chunks of meat as I pulled the skin away from the muscle underneath.

"How do you manage this?" I furrowed my brow, confused at his sudden question,

"What do you mean Adam?" I pulled a plastic bag out of the front pocket of my backpack, pulling the edges open, while Adam slid a huge chunk of the venison into it, filling the bag.

"How do you kill a deer like you do, like, so clean?" I shrugged,

"Its easy, you chase it, jump on it, kill it, its not rocket science Adam." He shrugged, making a slit down the skin of the deer.

"I dunno, I never could, and you can kill them so easily." I laughed, plunging my knife into the shoulder of the deer,

"yeah, well you can track, like, anything, and make bombs and use that cool sword thingy! Your awesome!" Adam smiled to himself, pulling up the skin of the deer so I could saw off a chunk of meat.

"Yeah, thanks Lee." I stabbed the chunk, shaking it off the blade into the bag. Adam slit the skin, shaving the skin off the side of the deer. I cut off the meat in thick slabs, putting them into plastic bags. Our goal when getting meat like this was to leave a more natural looking kill site, making it look like it was a wolf or a panther something like that, I don't know what lives in Wisconsin. Either way, we didn't want to leave a dismantled animal scattered around on the forest floor, but left the skeleton in one piece, only cutting of the meat in ragged shapes. Kyle sat cross legged next to me,

"Are we going to eat any of it?" I laughed, all Kyle ever thought about was food.

"Yeah, once we put all we need on bags, we can eat the rest." Kyle grinned and walked away, using a rock to sharpen the long blade of his Katana. Curse the person who decided it would be a good idea to give him that. I motioned Kyle over,

"We cut up this side, here's your reserve Kyle, I said RESERVE. That means don't eat it yet." Kyle rolled his eyes,

"Yeah whatever, What of this thing can I eat?" I smiled,

"The other side." I pushed two bags of the venison into his arms,

"Put these in your bag, for tonight." He nodded and walked away from me. I linked my fingers in the deers ribcage, flipping it away from me to the other side, pulling my fingers out as it turned. Belle cringed at me from where she was starting a small fire for the meat.

"Leah that's disgusting." I smiled evilly at her, making a deep cut in the flank of the deer.

"Come and get it kids!" Adam, who was still sitting next to me, hacked off his own piece, walking away with the chunk still on the end of his knife. Sage, who was folding blankets next to Belle, called to me,

"Leah, will you get me one?" I nodded,

"throw, Sage." She pulled her Short dagger from her sheath next to her buster sword, hurling it through the air to me, the blade shining in the orange light. I swiped it out of the air, the feel of the soft leather handle in my hand, I stared at my hand for a second, before plunging the shining blade into the bloody mess.

I pulled my backpack over my wing, catching one of the long primaries, pulling it out,

"Ow!." I gasped, extending the wing, snatching the white and gold, feather covered wing. I examined the spot it was pulled out, which for the most part looked normal, except for the missing feather. I sighed, taking the backpack from my shoulder, swinging it to the ground, and knelt down on one knee beside it, my tangled braid falling into my view, I quickly flicked it behind me.

I gently pulled the long cream and gold feather out of the shoulder strap, along with a white secondary, which I must not have felt. I tucked the feather into the inside pocket of my leather jacket. Drew stood next to me, his distinct piney smell washing over me as he crouched next to me.

"Come on slowpoke, were leaving, put your jacket on." I sighed, pulling my jacket off, exposing my skin to the cold air, tucking my warm wings flat against my back. I pulled my jacket over my wings, flattening the feathers under the thick leather. I pulled the backpack carelessly over my jacket, which rested on my wings. I stood, and Drew rose with me, taking my hand as we stood up, walking over to where the rest of my flock was standing.

"Okay, so the plan is just to follow this trail and see where we end up?" Adam nodded at me, his eyes closed. I fingered the strap on my backpack and started walking, hearing the flocks footsteps behind me. It was so weird seeing them look so normal, with no wings, just like regular teenagers. Well, besides the rough looking clothes, those looked like they belonged in a fight club, other than that we looked normal. I squeezed Drew's warm hand, and he squeezed back, as if saying,

"I'm here for you." That was Drew, my rock solid buddy. My senses were on high alert, eyes peeled, every sound around me, the sounds of my flock breathing, the crunch of the leaves, the rustling of the orange leaves as the wind carves its path through them. The weight of my backpack pulls down on my shoulders, I look up at the sky, the sun directly over head, noon. I sigh, missing my quiver bumping my thigh with every step I take. I take the feathers from my pocket, running my fingers over the soft patterns.

I intertwined my fingers with Drew's, his warm hand fitting perfectly with mine. I put the feathers back in my pocket, my other hand falling limply back at my side. I hear Belles footsteps weaving all over the path as she cranes her neck to look around her surroundings. I look at my feet as I walk, my moccasins kicking up the leaves.

I stopped at the end of the path, the sight of silver and black cars parked between yellow lines making my shoulders tense under the straps of my backpack. Drew tugs on my hand, pulling me after him. I hear Kyle laugh behind me,

"Whats up Lee? Cars scaring you to death?" I glare at him,

"Its not the cars, its the people." I face forward again, the hard pavement under my feet strange from the soft forest ground. A Couple with two children walked towards us about fifty feet away, I tensed, practically jumping on Drew's shoulder, climbing up his back and hiding behind his shoulder, my arms wrapped around his chest. He grabbed my wrist, his voice soft in my head,

Leah, its okay, they can't see anything. I sighed, drawing in a breath before sliding down from his shoulder. The people walked by us, Belle grinning at them like she was five. I clung to Drew's hand like a lifeline, Wishing I could read his mind, find out what was running through his mind like he could read mine. I wondered if he was just as calm on the inside as he appeared on the outside.

We walked straight, before a long curving pavement crawled over a hill, the top of the hill appearing to be flat. My wings itched to be free from my jacket, I wasn't made to hide myself like this. Drew wrapped his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me gently,

I feel the same way, Ill get us out of here asap. I fingered my necklace, some sort of blue stone with darker blue lines crisscrossing over it in wavy patterns, Tied with a leather chord. I had no idea where I got it, but I liked it. Adam had one like mine, except his was, classically, black. I know, king of goth returns. Sage, belle and Kyle had them too, Sages being a misty green, Belles a smokey grey with a black star carved in the middle, And Kyles a harsh blue with a black circle etched in black on it. Drew was the only one who didn't have one. We walked to the top of the hill, and I nearly had a heart attack, There were people

FREAKING EVERYTHING, EVERYTHING WAS IN CAPS LOCK, AND MY LEGS TURNED INTO LEAD, I WAS A FREAKING ROCK FOR THOSE HORRIBLE SECONDS OF MY LIFE. Oh, then Drew squeezed my hand, and caps lock went back down to normal, stupid men.

I compose myself, walking quickly to one of those information boxes like what they have at the zoo, except this one didn't have any animals, just pictures of trees and a cave. I felt a hand on my shoulder, a hand that wasn't Drew's.

Panic mode activated.


	35. The end begins

Chapter 35-Drew's P.O.V

I watched as a man, who looked slightly familiar, hurried up to Leah, who had run away from us to look at an information object thing. She whirled around, both her hands grabbing him around his throat and forcing him to the ground. I sprinted towards them, reaching them just as realization dawned in Leah's eyes, and Leah released him. "Vick?" He sat up, rubbing his throat.

"What are you doing here? How did you find us?" Leah offered a hand and pulled him up from the ground.

"We'll talk about that later, for now, are you okay? Where's Adam?" Leah gestured to the rest of the flock to come closer, Adam leading them. I stood like a statue, questions and accusations running through my head at a million miles per hour. Adam approached, his emotionless eyes showing happiness for the first time in weeks.

"Hey Vick." Vick smiled at Adam, the same joy mirroring in Vick's eyes,

"Hey bud." I looked between the two, a startling resemblance between them, with their dark brown hair and striking blue eyes with black rings. Leah looked sternly at Vick,

"How did you find us?" Vick's smile vanished, replaced by a serious mask,

"I actually didn't come here to find you, I came to find this." He pointed at a cave on the information plaque thingy Leah was looking at.

"I came to find eagle cave. I left something there a long time ago." His eyes danced over Leah and Adam, before fixing on his toes.

"What did you leave there?" Leah's voice cut through the air, Cocking her head to the side as her eyes locked onto Vick's, whose eyes didn't waver under her gaze. He replied,

"Something really important. But I need your help to find it." Leah crossed her arms, tossing her braid over her shoulder,

"Why our help?" Her pale eyes flashed, Vick's eyes taking in every flock member.

"One, you have wings. Two, Your stronger than the average bodybuilder. And three, You have one of these." Vick held up a necklace shaped in the same diamond shape as the flocks, except his was a vibrant orange with red rings, reminding me of firelight. I drew in a breath, did everybody in the world seem to have a necklace just like that, but me? I shook off the thought, looking back at Leah, who's eyebrows were furrowed, messy brown braid flung carelessly behind her back.

"Where is the cave, how do you know where it is?" He looked straight at Adam, His grey eyes locking onto him.

"I think Adam is the one to determine that." Adams eyes widened, and his brow furrowed. Vick placed a hand on Adams shoulder, turning his face up to Adams, taking his hand from his shoulder to take Adams inky black necklace stone into his thumb and forefinger.

"You hold the key, too find your past. This is your key." Vick released the stone, letting it drop. Leah stood like a stone, Belle standing at her right, her supporter forever.

"Take us there. Please." Vick nodded, a smirk blooming on his lips. He turned and pointed to The map on the plaque,

"Eagle cave, you need to go there, take eagle trail. Be careful, don't talk to anyone, stick together, if you separate, Adam and Drew will hold you together. Meet you there." Leah began to speak, but he was gone. Just, disappeared, leaving a tiny cloud of dust where he must have run from. Adam pinched his eyes closed,

"Hes a vortex traveler, using fragments of fire to transport his body to any location instantly." My eyes bugged out of my head, and Sage squeaked,

"What?" Adam opened his pale eyes, which stood out in his tanned face, rimmed with dark lashes.

"Hes basically transporting." Leah snorted,

"then we have no time to waste, which of these trails are the Eagle?" she asked pointing to the plaque. I stood next to her, she was obviously determined, her mind set on warpath, every sense heightened, and she had blocked me out entirely from her mind other than emotions. I pointed to the long winding trail that was labeled,

"Eagle trail."

"This one Lee." She nodded once before whirling around, I followed with her, finding that all the people that had been here before, were gone, only their cars remaining. Leah whispered,

"I have a bad feeling about this. All the people here, they wouldn't have all left at once." I stood next to her, drawing my sword from my sheath, its leather bound handle feeling alive in my hand.

"I think we should find our past. I don't know anything about my past, and we don't have anything to lose but each other. And you would never let that happen." she stared straight ahead, before her head turned to me, her eyes meeting mine, sparks leaping like fire in her irises. Adam whispered,

"I have the key." I turned towards him, and the stone on his necklace began to glow with a blue ring of light in the center.

"Adam. Stay to the back, Your going to be important." Leah whipped her bow off her shoulder, pushing her gold and white wings through the wing slits in her jacket. I followed her, pushing the joints of my wings through my jacket slits. Leah pointed to the trail with an arrow.

"Let it rain bitches."


	36. Eagle Cave

Chapter 36-Leah P.O.V.

We had ran into the woods, and were immediately bombarded by some kind of mutant. After about one step into the woods, one of them, which looked like giant potatoes with huge, armored, swinging arms and surprisingly long legs, narrowly missed a blow to my head. I shoulder rolled to the side, coming up on one knee, automatically stringing an arrow. I pulled back on the string, and released the arrow to strike the potato thing in the chest. I released the arrow, but it simple bounced off the heavy armoring.

For a second I just stared at the potato, wondering what the heck that armor was made of and where I could get some.

The thing swung at me again, just as five more of them stumbled, more like plowed, their way through the trees, knocking down the thick trunks over the trail.

"Fight or flight?" I heard Belle's voice ring, alarmed through the trees.

"Fight!" I called back, It had been a while since I had an actual challenge in a fight. I pushed off my back foot, Charging it. It swung a club-like arm at me again, and I rolled on my side, snatching my red feathered arrow from under its feet. It took small steps to turn to face me, I shuffled behind it, and leaped up into its back, Climbing up onto its shoulders. It shrieked, jerking rapidly, but not throwing me off.

I positioned myself better on its shoulder, twirling the arrow in my fingers, the light shaft and red feathers beautiful in the morning light. I looked down at the huge fleshy head at my feet. I stabbed it in the neck with my arrow, but the thing just writhed under me more violently.

"Guys!" I surveyed the area, Belle, battling another monster, the same as mine, her short silver swords like disks as she spun them fast through her hands, making fast, slicing, cuts on the monster, darting around it, before smashing the blade into the face of it, and it shrieked, falling to the ground, Belles sword still lodged in its face.

I yanked my arrow back out of its neck, sliding it back into my quiver, and took the handle of my bow into my right hand, Making deep hacks in the monsters neck with the long, wickedly curving blades. The creature shrieked, and I back flipped off its back.

Facing it as rivers of blood ran down its neck, I drew my bow, another arrow poised on the string. I released the arrow, Aiming at the unarmored knee. My arrow pierced deep in between the knee cap, and severed the cartilage. The knee bent backwards, and the creature fell to the ground, balancing in its massive arms, making deep throaty sounds as it tried to move, but was unable.

I walked towards it, drawing my hunting knife from my quiver sheath. I stood over it, my icy mask freezing my emotions. I heard what sounded like sobbing sound emanating from the creature. I narrowed my eyes, tightening my grip on the handle of my knife. Images flashing behind my eyelids, a dark fog swirling over a city. The creature spoke, its words burning into my mind, as its scratchy language hit me like a tidal wave,

"Heronjtë e kohën e humbur, fshehur shpirtrat tuaj, ose humbasin ato të fatit." I furrowed my brow, the language not one of the two that I knew. I plunged my knife into its face, silencing its dry babble. It slumped to the ground, blood pouring from its face, or slit, because this thing didn't really have a face. I stared at its huge body for a second, Its white skin covered in red welts and sores, like its own skin was rotting. For a second I felt bad, like, it was rotting away, that couldn't be pleasant.

I turned away from the creature, watching as Drew, drove the blade of his long sword through the elbow of one of the monsters, efficiently chopping its arm off. Just the same as the other monster, it shrieked, and the limb only pussed and, get this, started to disintegrate. Drew stumbled away from it as its whole arm began to curdle and shrivel up.

The creature swung its remaining arm at Drew's head, shrieking a cry that made my head throb. I drew an arrow, pulling back the string, Drew rolled away from the creatures arm, his face turned up to its, a look pure fear on Drew's face as it raised its arm to smash him. I growled deep in my throat, releasing the arrow, which lodged itself cleanly between the two flaps that concealed its face. It stumbled back, its hoarse crying piercing the air. I shot another arrow, hitting its face next to the other, the creature arching its back, an earsplitting cry,

"Mos dështojnë, si i kanë, të mbajë çdo kuptim mbledhur rreth jush, frikë images." The strange words rushed over me again, I gritted my teeth in frustration. I rushed over to Drew, at the same moment the creature collapsed, its flaps of skin pulling back to reveal two glowing blue eyes, my arrows between them.

It uttered one final moan, its eyes changing, becoming human like, before closing. I gasped, standing quickly, dragging Drew up off the ground with me.

"What is it?" He whispered into my ear, and I shook my head. Crossing to the creature, I pulled my two, clean, arrows from the creatures huge head, Belle stepped next to me, and Kyle, Sage and Adam, whipped through the underbrush to stand with us, I looked at Adam,

"What are those?" Adam looked at his feet,

"obviously, genetic mutations, but these are different, they were tortured and have no control over their own actions." I frowned,

"How is that possible?" Adam shrugged,

"Don't ask me, I'm not the one who created them." I drew circles in the wood chips with my toe. Kyle tugged on my arm,

"If we don't hurry up to the cave..." I nodded,

"Yeah, thanks Kyle." I whirled on my heel, waving my arm over my shoulder,

"Come on guys, In form!" I heard their feet fall into a triangle behind me, and I ran down the path, focusing only on taking long strides on the fronts of my feet, the trees racing past me on the path, the fresh smell of the trees now felt dead and disturbing, making my skin crawl and making me jumpy. Well, jumpier that usual.

I looked down at my feet, the dead leaves and bare dirt blurring under the thin soles of my moccasins. My bow thumped my shoulder rhythmically, its feel on my shoulder familiar. I turned my face up to the sky, through the trees, the sky a rich shade of blue, the wisps of clouds like the paintings of the sky in my attic back at home. Wait, no, no home anymore, just a pile of ashes next to a lake.

I tore my eyes from the sky, only to have them flare at the ground quivering from under my feet. I stumbled to the left, slamming into a tree, a voice smooth as silk whispering gibberish behind my eyes, pictures of places as creatures flashing, only to be snatched away. I fell to my knees, a splitting pain erupting through my head and spine. I tried to push my head together, holding it from falling apart in my hands.

My eyes squeezed shut, tears rolling down my cheeks. I heard vivid screaming behind me, the words not registering in my head, the silky whispering voice blending the words into nothingness. I felt a hand on my shoulder, pulling me up sharply, the voice of the person gentile but urgent.

I kicked and screamed at the person, as the skin on my arm turned to ashes when they touched me. I gathered my self without tipping over, aiming a roundhouse kick at their head, Feeling the resonance of the blow through my foot, The person at the receiving end grunted and tumbled away from me. I turned, scrambling away as fast as the twisting ground would allow, before I was knocked to the ground, my head hitting the damp earth. I tried to rolled over onto my stomach to stand, but was kicked in the stomach, and curled up into a ball and the skin under my shirt crumbled away into ash. I felt my shoulder being yanked forcefully to the side, the skin on my shoulder no longer turning to ash, but felt as if it was burning from the inside out. Lets just say its almost as unpleasant as watching the tiny children at the base being skinned for being disobedient or useless. I still shutter at the cold memories.

I felt the heel of a cold hand push my forehead down, pressing my head down into the dirt, my already aching head screaming under the pressure. My blurred eyes focused just long enough or me to catch a glimpse of my assailant, Black curly hair framing a pale catlike face, pale grey eyes piercing behind thick black lashes, but their was something in her eyes, something fierce, like nothing I had seen on another person, something vicious.

My eyes blurred again, and The outline of a clawed hand raised above my head. I closed my eyes, a painful death sounded pretty nice right now. I let my head flop to the side, given up, before I felt her nails sink through my shoulder. Not like into my shoulder, but like through muscle, and skin, pinning me down into the hard ground below me.

My eyes flew open, still blurred and disoriented, but the pain in my shoulder was unbelievable. I arched my back, gasping for air, but not breathing in any. The scorching pain doubled when she twisted her hand, tearing my skin and drawing her nails slowly out of my shoulder. I felt my skin begin to burn, and beads of sweat condensed all over my forehead, I felt the pain less when she dug her nails into my shoulder again, my head no longer aching, but spinning, My hot blood soaking my arm and jacket. wait, wasn't blood just warm? Whatever, dead people don't need blood. I felt my whole body go numb, waves of exhaustion washing over me, a hot blackness, like Sages coffee with the mint leaves floating on top, Drew's hair flopping over his smiling eyes, Adams hair against the sparkling snow when we were kids, Kyles pupils, like islands in his ocean colored eyes, Black like the star in Belles necklace stone. Black Like my mothers curly hair, brushing my face as she leaned over me, her piercing grey eyes smiling kindly down at me.

I smiled to myself, before slipping into total unconsciousness.


	37. shapeshifter

Chapter 37-Drew P.O.V.

We ran through the trail, the cancers (A.K.A. the giant arm potato things we just killed) dead behind us, and now we were tearing through the forest looking for eagle cave to find our "pasts" or whatever. I think its a bunch of bull snot, but whatever.

I looked up at Leah, calmly scanning the midday sky as she ran. I looked up at the sky, deeply inhaling the autumn air, Its freshness fulling my lungs and air sacs. I looked back at Leah, who veered sharply to the left, and a sharp stab of pain shot through my head. I watched as leah crashed into a tree, before stumbling and falling to the ground, clutching her head and whimpering. I ran to her, clutching her shoulder,

"Whats wrong Lee?" I was panicking, Leah didn't whimper, ever. She looked at her shoulder, and her eyes widened, and she began to kick and writhe under my grip. I heard Sages voice behind me,

"Jackals!" I turned to see jackals pouring out from the trees, turning back to leah, she delivered a powerful roundhouse kick to my face, splitting my lip and probably bruising my cheekbone, the momentum of her kick forcing me back off her, and she turned and ran disoriented, down the trail away from me.

I stood to run after her, but was tackled back down by a panther jackal, which snarled in my face. By now, I was infuriated, And pulled my feet under me, Kicking the jackal off me, and did one of those rolley flippy things back upward, undercut punched the jackal in the chin, and drew my longsword, hacking the jackal in the side, making it scream and fall limp to the ground, blood spurting from its side, staining thee wood chips from brown, to a deep crimson.

I turned, another jackal rushed at me, lips pulled back to reveal long, pointed teeth. I ducked under its claws, forcing the tip of my blade through its spine, feeling the blade slide between the the little spine bone things, cutting through cartilage, nerves, and, woho, liver.

I kicked the jackal off my sword, and heard tattered heartbeats racing through my head. I whirled, seeing leah, lying on her back, a woman with dark hair leaning over her, a sick smile plastered on her face, long, FINGERNAILS, like five inches long, being ripped out of Leah's shoulder, which was soaked in blood.

I sprinted towards them, smashing into the girl sitting on Leah's stomach with my shoulder, pinning her to the ground by the throat. I gasped as she began changing under my hand, as she clawed at my arm, with may I mention five inch crimson talons for fingernails, her thick curly black hair turned a sea green, her skin from a pearly pale shade to a olive tan, her eyes from a pale grey, to an angry shade of yellow. I leaned my weight onto my arm on her throat, raising my longsword threateningly, her eyes growing huge when she saw it raised above my head.

"What are you, where are you from, and .." I released her throat, enough for her to gasp a breath, cocking my head at her,

"I hope you know that I could make this end, right now." She gasped again, before looking straight at me, her eyes changing into an electric blue, skin becoming a pearly pale, hair becoming wavy and dark brown, Leah. I narrowed my eyes, seeing the warped anger in Leah's eyes that I knew didn't exist there. I growled deep in my throat, my eyes locking onto hers, familiar but foreign. She choked out,

"Let me go Drew, please, your hurting me." I inhaled deeply through my nose, keeping my eyes focused on Leah, her voice sounding slightly warped and flat. I wrinkled my nose, even her distinct smell was there.

"Let me go." I clutched my sword tighter,

"NO!" I plunged the blade down into her neck, watching with sick satisfaction as she instantly changed back, blood bubbling around the slit in her throat. I stood, pulling my longsword out of the bone in her spine, and wiping the blade off on some underbrush plant. I turned back to the body as the girls features shifted to look like completely her own.

I grimaced, disgusted at her. I felt a weak heartbeat echoing through my head, Leah! I turned, sprinting to her as fast as I could,

"Oh my god, Leah, wake up, wake up. I began to panic, calling over my shoulder,

"Kyle! come on Kyle!" I put my hand over Her mouth, feeling her cold breath on my palms. I sighed, at least she was still breathing. Kyle ran up next to me, his face flushed from the battle going on behind us. He kneeled down next to me, Instantly seeing Leah's shoulder practically pulsing blood. Kyle gently shook her good shoulder, and her eyes flew open and she bolted upright, right before clutching her shoulder and her face twisting in pain. Kyle gently pushed her back down on the ground, and leah moaned,

"Fix it Kyle..." Kyle furrowed his brow, and he traced his fingertips over the gaps in her shoulder. He spoke in a cool tone to me, while Leah's eyes focused and unfocused, before closing and her breathing slowed,

"She has torn muscles, well more like punctured, right through the bone, and all the little veins and nerves snapped and are causing internal bleeding. It could take me a while to patch her up, but she's defiantly going to have some leftover scars." I nodded, Kyle must be really serious if he was using no puns or stupid Kyle words as he spoke,

"It must be bad..." I looked away from the dirt and looked at Leah's eyes, which were open, making me jump. My eyes locked on hers, and her lips curved up in an empty, tearful smile,

"My mom just killed me Drew, killed me with her fucking fingernails."


	38. Silent angels

38-Drew P.O.V.

I looked back down at her, her eyes glossy from the tears building up in her pale eyes. I scooped her head up in my lap, a tear escaping her and sliding down her dusty cheek.

"No, it was a shape-shifter." Leah's face distorted, screwing up, Kyle put a hand on her forehead,

"Sorry I can't fix turmoil Lee." She smiled weakly at him,

"Can you still fix it." Kyle smiled playfully at her,

"Yeah, but it will still hurt a lot." She closed her eyes again,

"Whatever it takes, I'm not up for losing my arm today. I already got stabbed by my mom." I frowned,

"It wasn't your mom, it was a shape-shifter." She frowned at me, her electric blue eyes scornful,

"Yes it was, you weren't there." I brushed the hairs out of her face,

"Well anyway, I killed her for you." She smiled up at me,

"Thank you, wildcat...taming...master." I bent over her, placing my lips on her forehead,

"No problem." she smiled up at me, but her forehead creased as Kyle traced Leah's gashes, the skin not closing, but pussing and yeah you get the picture. Leah hissed a breath, before smoothing out her expression, but leaving her eyes closed. I smoothed her hair, scratching her hairline on her neck.

"You okay?" Kyle looked concerned, but leah nodded rapidly, and Kyle placed two fingers on one of the slits in her jacket, and the skin closed seamlessly, well, almost. he continued with the rest of her shoulder, and she sat up when he drew away from her, shrugging her shoulder.

"Well I'm still sore Kyle, Good job." Kyle smirked at her,

"Well, fatigue always sets in and I can't fix everything, only the things I can identify." She smiled,

"Whatever." I offered my hand to her, which she took, and I pulled her up next to me. Belle ran past us, yelling back,

"Were becoming overpowered! RRRRUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNN FORESTS! RUNNNNNN!" two blurs, one dark and the other strawberry blonde, whipped past us, Kyle raced after them,

"get on my back cripple." I smirked at Leah, and she hopped up on my back, between my wings, which I wrapped around her sides, and her arms and legs latched onto me. I sprinted towards the forest trail, the screams of the jackals behind us growing more angry and rabid. Leah's weight melted away as I surged on after the flock, Following their blurs weaving between the trees, trying to set the jackals off our scent. I wove, striding over logs and bumps in the ground. I saw an opening in the trees, and pulled my wings away from Leah, and leaped towards the sky, smooth down strokes carrying us higher. I unhinged my shoulder blades, my wings making long smooth strokes in the air, the wing whipping through my hair.

I felt Leah lean forward on my back, running her fingers through my tangly hair. If she had said anything, it was torn away by the wind. I located the flock in the trees, and surged after them, a hard down stroke pushing me faster through the air. I felt Leah's arms slip around my neck again, her chin resting on my neck, her cool breath making my face burn red.

I felt her lift off my back, her weight suddenly gone, and she fell past me towards the trees, The brown tops of her wings half open, before she snapped them open, brushing the air with soft, clean strokes. I angled my wings up, turning my face to the shadow of the sun behind the clouds. Behind me Leah's falcon cry pierced the air, one long clear cry, answered by another that I defined as Belles, rose through the trees in short staccato notes, before the four pairs of wings shot through the trees and raced towards us.

Leah surged in front of me, and I pushed my wings down into the wind to keep pace behind her. She raced towards a limestone wall, White and gold wings slicing through the wind. Kyle came up behind me, tapping my shoulder with his black tipped White wing. I swept the air with my wings, the cold air whipping through my hair, catching back up to Leah, right before she shot up the face of the limestone cliff. I forced my wings to bend slightly, my face inches from the rocky face. I forced myself to remain calm, one wrong flap and I could crash into the face of the cliff and that's my end, as fabulous as it is.

I made tiny circles with the tips of my wings, keeping myself steady as we neared the top of the cliffs face. I turned my face to the sky, watching Leah's wings tear through the air. We shot past the top of the cliff, and I stretched my stiff muscles, taking huge sweeps in the air with my wings, gulping air into my air sacs and lungs. I leveled off, the trees like a carpet below me, the steep crags of the limestone cliffs jutting out sharply from the trees. Adam swooped down next to Leah, and seemed to talk to her, their voices drowning in the wind, before I could hear what they were saying. Adam pointed to one of the cliffs near a lake, and Leah nodded and angled down towards it, her heartbeat picking up dramatically in my head. I looked to where Adam pointed, and I gaping hole in one of the cliffs came into view. Eagle cave.

I angled my wings down, but continued flapping, picking up speed, and the trees beneath me raced past in a blur, The hole in the cliff steadily growing closer. About fifty feet away from the opening, I backpedaled hard, making sweeping circles with my wings. I landed on the sandy floor of the the cave looking around, seeing Leah in the dark ahead of me. Kyle, landed hard next to me, stumbling a few steps before coming to a stop. I watched concerned as Leah leaned against the wall of the cave, her face white. Adam Landed quietly next to Sage, who landed seconds after Belle who landed after Kyle, and walked over to Leah, his arms wrapping around her shoulders protectively. I ducked my head, and walked after Adam as he led the way into the dark cave.

I wondered why Adam was leading, but then figured he could probably pick up on Vick's thoughts in the cave and figure out what direction he should be going. Darkness closed in around us, and I followed the sound of Belles hair swishing against the back of her jacket. I barely heard Adam whisper,

"Vick says there should be light around here somewhere..." Adam shuffled around in the sand, before I spotted tiny lights in the distance,

"Adam, up there." I nodded my head towards the lights, and felt Adams presence in my mind, and then turning towards the lights. I now saw the outline of the flocks heads, and the lights were torches, burning and covered in cobwebs. We walked towards them, and I pulled one of the torches out of its metal ring carrying it like a flashlight. As I glances the the wall, I jumped at the sight of a face staring directly at me. I backed against the other wall, and Kyle looked at me with one eyebrow raised.

"The wall has a face." Leah frowned, tacking another torch from the wall and going to the spot where I had been, holding the torch close to the wall, which was covered in carved pictures, unknown names, and dates. Leah traced her fingers slowly over the wall, scanning the she came to the face, which didn't scare her. Instead she traced the outline of the faces eyebrows.

"This moms face." She said slowly, her face blank as Adams eyes fell on the carving of the black haired and eyes woman in the wall, I stood up, standing next to Leah, taking her hand and squeezing it. She tugged my hand and I followed the rest of the flock down the crooked hall, the smoothed walls covered in intricate pictures and words in other languages. We passed an entrance to the right and kept walking down the hall, until we stopped in front of a series of statues, all with wings but their faces were deformed from the moisture in the cave.

"What are these?" Belle murmured and went and touched where the eyes of the first statue should have been, but then jerked her hand away as if it had been burned.

"What is it?" Kyle stepped up next to her, before stretching out a hand, but not touching it. He pulled his hand away and turned back, his face burning with concern in the light of his torch.

"They're penetratingly cold, like unnatural cold, but its not affecting the air." Adams eyebrows drew together in concentration, before his eyes widened in horror,

"guys, don't take your eyes off the statues." Our eyes all snapped to Adam, who's eyes were wide, and Leah slowly said,

"Adam, what. is. in. their. minds." Adam looked at her, right before our torches flickered and blew out in a sudden gust of cold wind, coming from the statues. I quickly swiped the gas filled end of my torch on the black wall, and it sputtered to life, and I came face to face with one of the statues, right in front of me. Out of the corners of my eyes, I saw Belle lying on the ground in a heap, Leah crouched on the ground with an angel statue towering over her, Adam was alone in the center of the room, Sage had a wrist caught by one of the statues stony grip, and was struggling to break free of it, before snapping the whole arm off by flipping on top of it and breaking it with her weight, and Kyle was standing as still as he could over Belle,

who wasn't moving.


	39. fire Nation

Chapter 39-Leah P.O.V.

I looked up at the angels stone face looking down at me, Holes where its eyes must be now visible in the melted stone. In my peripheral vision, I saw Kyle scoop up Belle, her neck bent at an unnatural angle, I panicked, my best friend lying limp in Kyles arms.

"Adam, can I move?"

"Yeah, I'll keep an eye on that angel." I scurried across the floor over to Kyle, taking Belle from him, his face white, blood poured from Belles mouth, her eyes wide and terrified. I felt a sting in my chest, like I had been stabbed with ice, over, and over again.

"No Bellie, No." I watched in horror as her eyes focused and unfocused, Her body losing its warmth. I cradled her to me, Kyle bent over us. I felt a tear wind down my face, and watched as the image of her snapped neck and pain filled eyes blur in my tears, but I saw the lights in her hazel eyes dim,

"No, not Belle, any other human but Belle." I buried my face in her hair and sobbed, feeling my icy exterior melt, as Belles last traces of warmth disappeared. I felt the rest of my flock gather around me. First Sage, then a shocked Kyle, then Drew.

I cried the last of the water my melted ice gave me, and then I cried dry, without tears. I felt my flock draw away, then I realized Adam must have said something.

"What?" I stood up, my voice scratchy.

Adam looked worried at me,

"These aren't the only Angels, we have to get out of here." How many Adam. He looked at me solemnly, his pale eyes determined and expressionless, the way he got before a holocaust. shutting down any emotion, only letting in the urge to kill seep through.

I looked over at Kyle, who had scooped up Belle, brushing her dirty blonde hair out of her face, his eyes grieving and full of scared pain. I looked at the angel that stood above where Belle died. And I felt anger like, Like I had never been angry before. I leaped at the angel, a hawks cry escaping my lips, and without knowing what I was doing, I help out two fingers to the angels forehead, and a shock ran through my body, burning like fire in my blood.

The angel burst into flames and disintegrated into a pile of ashes that was scattered around the rest of the cave. I stumbled away from the burned spot on the floor, tears falling down my cheeks again, I launched myself at the next Angel, Screaming and crying as my hand contacted its wing and it turned to ash under my palm, and the angel shrieked and sprung to life, right before I tore Its now alive head from its shoulders and hurling it at the wall, turning to ash as it struck the stone. I back flipped off the now decapitated angel, and landed in front of the one missing an arm, thanks to Sage. I pressed a palm onto its stomach, and It also burst into flames, and screaming sounds escaped its unmoving mouth. I put my hands over my ears and screamed, feeling the sound sear past my throat, the air around me shake, and the last angels around me shatter. I took my hands off my ears, before blindly whirling to face my flock on my heel like a badass.

"We leave now." I sprinted past them, hearing their footsteps fall into line behind me. I didn't even dare to look over at Kyle. I heard a buzzing sound in the distance, echoing through the tunnels, and I sprinted towards it. If I died here, So what? Maybe then I could walk to hell with Belle. I stopped at the entrance of the ragged cave, with two torches at the sides of the tunnel. I took one out of its holder, and held it up to the tunnel, and the buzzing stopped, and I was faced by hundreds of feet of the stone angels.

I took in a steady breath, facing the angels, that had been crawling on the ceiling and walls, as well as the ground. I slowly let out my breath as my flock came up behind me, breathing hard. I continued to stare down the tunnel, the face of every one of the angels turned towards us.

"Oh my god." Sage breathed next to me, And I nodded, scanning my mind for any trace of how to get through. Then it hit me,

"Adam!" his head turned towards me.

"Do you remember at the lab, how they said that we had sonar? to create an image in our heads of what lies below the surface?" Adam eyes lit up, and her nodded.

"We could use that to close our eyes so the angels can move and then we can take them out when they regain living form because we aren't able to see them with our eyes but with our minds!" Adam, smirked at me, and I closed my eyes, and the buzzing started again, and I heard a whoosh as one of the angels ran behind me. Suddenly a picture, bodies outlined in green, showed sharp and clear in my mind, angels scurrying like termites over the ceiling towards us. I pulled my bow over my shoulder, and drew an arrow, releasing it, and the red feathers shot straight through the eye of an angel, which fell soundlessly to the ground. I heard the stony sounds of angels falling apart behind me, and looked foreword, and a different shape appeared, a familiar shape. I ran towards it, and it didn't move. eyes closed, I stretched out a hand to it, but my hand passed through its shoulder. I opened my eyes, and the shape was gone, but when I closed them again the shape was still there.

"Belle." I whispered, and the shaped wings quivered, just like Belles. the shape bounced for a moment, before disappearing, fading into thin air. I whirled, searching for belles shape, eyes closed in the darkness, the whispered buzzing of the angels drowning out any other sound. I turned back to the angels, but there were other shapes among them, with faded edges, moving in thin air, not holding onto anything, like spirits?

Oh my god. One passed right through me with chilling wind, before melting into the shape of a silent angel, and the angel shattered and the ghosts shape stood in the pile of dust. I opened my eyes, the stone angels shattering, seemingly with no explanation, but I knew.

"Flock, follow me!" I turned, right after Sage smashed the head of an angel with her buster sword, My flock fell into formation behind me, and we tore through tunnels of Angels, stony hands at our backs, their shrieks echoing behind us as Belles ghosts destroyed them. We raced through tunnels, before a blue aura appeared in the distance,

"There!" I picked up my speed, racing towards the fluorescent light, but I felt the urge to dart to the right, like something, no someone, was calling me.

"Go to the light, I'll meet you there." I called back to Adam, who nodded with blank eyes. I darted off the left, pouring on the speed, feeling myself race past the angels at an inhuman speed, the walls of the cave blurring past me, before skidding to a halt as the tunnels of angels became empty of them. I slowed to a walk, panting from sprinting. I walked forward, but couldn't see. I closed my eyes, switching to sonar, and another angel appeared in front of me, but this one was different, she looked peaceful. her hands clasped in front of her, long curly hair, long medieval dress, wings that looked more lifelike, like she could launch herself into the sky at anytime she wanted.

She looked so familiar, I blinked, and her eyes were open, but I sensed no threat from her. I reached out to touch her, but stopped, took a step back, and held out my hand, palm first, shut off my sonar, and felt hot stone on my hand, when I turned on my sonar, she had moved to place her hand on mine, and it was hot, and I felt my skin burning, but I ignored the pain, and focused on the angels eyes.

"Hi mom." I blinked, and the angel was smiling, her wings open. I smiled weakly back,

"what do I do now mom?" Then the silky voice in my head responded,

"Become the Phoenix." I frowned,

"How do I do that? I don't have the fire stone." I fingered the blue stone around my neck, Vick had once told me the origins of the stones you could find on the necklaces we had, but Firestone's were rare, because they were made of the fused souls of phoenixes, but the Phoenix had to chose you, or you couldn't use the stones qualities, I had thought it was a bunch of hoopla.

"That stone is not yours. It is your protector." I frowned,

"Then which one is mine?" I heard laughter in my head, and the angel began to glow from cracks in the stone creating it. The orange light danced around gathering into a stone, shaped like all the others, around the Angels neck, a black star in the center of the molted diamond.

"From generation to generation." I blinked, and the angel took her hand from mine, and the burning heat went away.

"Go ahead, take it." I tripped over my own thoughts, was my moms necklace a Firestone? Was she a Phoenix? I reached around the angels neck, Its finely shaped eyes stared straight ahead, and I unclasped the necklace, and fastened it around my own neck next to my cold blue one. The two colors opposite but beautiful together.

"Leah, hurry", I face palmed, I had totally forgotten about Adam.

"Sorry, I'm coming," 

"Hurry!" I faced away from my moms angel, and opened my wings, shaking out moisture from the caves, before running forward and beating down hard with my wings, shooting through the tunnels, The feeling of having my wings open and moving again felt awesome, before I almost crashed into the wall at the other end of the tunnel. I pushed off the stone wall with my feet,

"Whoa, keep it together." I mentally slapped myself, Shooting down the next tunnel like an arrow, Barely making it into a cavern filled with the blue light, but crashed into the wall in there anyway. I stood up, rubbing my shoulder.

"You alright?" Vick placed a hand on my other shoulder, and I nodded. I scanned the room for Belles body, and found her safe with Kyle. I pushed back tears and walked to stand next to Drew.

"What now Vick?" Vick nodded to Adam, who inhaled deeply, before dropping Sages hand and walking up to(I don't know how I just noticed this, being all observant and all.) A circular stone wall, full with spinning rings and figures the center a face with a diamond shaped stone imprint and a hand print. Adam pulled the chord of his necklace over his head and placed it into the diamond shape, and the wheels began so spin faster and the blue glow brightened and the pieces of the wheel actually began to move backwards, forming another tunnel through a space full of blue,

"What is this?" I looked up at Drew who looked worried,

"Its a time travelers portal, Vick told Adam he was the only one who could activate it." I watched as Adam placed his hand in the hand print, and the etching in the rings began to glow brighter, and they began to spin, all in different directions.

"Now!" Vick pushed me towards the portal, and I grabbed Drew's hand and ran towards it, the rest of my flock in front of me running after Adam, I passed the first ring, and The floor disappeared, but I could still feel solid under my feet. I saw In front of me Belles blonde hair falling over kyles arm like a waterfall, some of it caked with blood. Adam stopped, and turned, the eleven rings behind us still spinning, Adam faced them, and faced one arm towards them, palm flat, then made a fist just after Vick launched himself through the closing hole in the portal behind me. The rings then slid together at the end of the portal, and the blue light began to fade, stinging my eyes. I wrenched them shut, and the light behind my eyelids began to fade. I slowly opened them, and we were in another cave.

"Adam..." Adam looked back at me, before Sage rushed over, looping her arm under Adams arms, holding him up.

"Are you okay?" She looked up at him with wide eyes, and he nodded down at her,

"Yeah I'm okay." he smiled weakly down at her. I turned to Vick,

"Where are we." I felt the ice in my voice freeze every word, my eyes narrowed at him.

"You bring us here, Belle dies, Were in some unknown part of the world, what else do you want?" I grabbed his shirt collar, lifting him off the ground. he didn't even seem fazed,

"Were not on Earth anymore. Adam brought you to a whole new dimension." I raised Vick higher off the ground,

"Where." He smiled calmly down at me,

"Welcome to the Phoenix's realm." I slammed his feet down on the ground, whirling away angrily,

"flock, evacuate and abandon."

"Leah, you can't find your way without me." I whirled at Vick as my flock warily wove around us to get into formation at the opening of the cave.

"I think I can, Fuck off Vick." I spread my wings lifting out into the air, my wings bending in the gentile wind, bliss. I raised my wings, feeling the tense muscles flex and retract with every movement. I climbed higher into the sky, the sun rising in the horizon, a flat prairie below us. We climbed through the clouds, the air thinning dramatically, and I breathe deep, filling my air sacs with oxygen. Drew flew next to me,

"Leah, hes following us." Drew's eyes were wide.

"What?"

"Vick, he has wings!" I turned to look over my shoulder, and shure enough, Vick saw racing towards us on huge, almost blue tinted wings, a blue heron.

"okay guys, split and scatter!" I corkscrewed off to the left, letting my left wings fall and the right one raise. Have you ever been in an airplane and seen the ridges in the clouds that stand like towers? well yeah, I was darting in and out of them, trying to create a trail impossible to follow.

Leah, I will direct you to the Fire nation, follow my compass. My mom,

"okay, tell me where." a ball of fire appeared in the distance, and I let out a hawk cry, but without belles answering one, I had to turn and look for four pairs of wings rise through the clouds and race towards me, I turned forewords, racing towards the fire, raising my wings, and pushing them back down again. I heard my flocks wing beats behind me, and pressed faster towards the fire, reaching it in about fifteen minutes, at about an in air sprint for us. I docked down through the clouds, surrounded by damp grey for about ten seconds. For all of you who think that clouds are fluffy and fun, your wrong. They're wet and cold, not fun at all.

We dove down out of the clouds, and the millions of lights of a city shown below us, but these lights flickered. I dropped my left wings and circled off the left, wheeling in a tight circle, the rest of my flock circling around with me, just looking down with fascination at the lights below us. My raptor vision allowed me to see the buildings, which looked like they had escaped the Renaissance fair we had flown over. People walked between the brick buildings, all wearing long dresses or leather of some sort.

"So this is the Fire Nation mom? What exactly is that?" I heard a light feathery laugh,

Fire Nation is your first home Leah. A whole other dimension from the one you last lived in. I blinked, my first home?

"What do you mean?" I asked out loud, and Adam raised an eyebrow at me,

"So you remembered to drink your crazy juice this morning after all?" I made a face at Adam,

"Yeah, want some? I'll share."

The shadowy side of the clouds made it look like night, but above the clouds, it was bright and morning time. I leveled out over the city, streaks of fire rising up from one of the bigger buildings, the streaks swirling and darting under the dark clouds. I beat my wings, chasing after one of the streaks, seeing its wings, that were on fire, but not burning.

"Adam, try to get a reading on them!" Adam nodded and corkscrewed out in front of one of the streaks, which made a sound like a hawk, and darted away from Adam,

"They're really smart, and light the sky to terminate intruders." Adam looked up at me, his eyes narrowing,

"I guess thats what we're being considered." I ducked as one of the streaks raced past where my head had been,

"Shit!" I screamed, and fell about ten feet, before righting myself, the heat emanating from these things was enormous.

"Ky, Sage, Drew, watch your backs." Sage nodded, and drew her sword from her back. Taking a swipe at the next streak to fly at her. Kyle shouted,

"These are phoenixes!" I hovered and faced him,

"And how do you know?" He made a duh face at me, while adjusting Belles body in his arms,

"Books, and the Narnia movies, duh." I sighed, and turned, dodging a Phoenix as it raced past me.

"Follow me, Kyle." I dived towards the ground, pulling in my wings, and hearing the air shriek as I tore past it. I trusted my flock to follow me down, and when I turned to face upward and I fell. Sure enough, they were falling right after me, of course not as fast. I faced back down, pulling my wings in against my body again, and sliced through the air like an arrow, forcing my body to relax. I saw a roof below me, and backpedaled, landing on it, but instead of landing I fell right through.

... What kind of idiots are these people? I landed on my right wing, and hissed in a breath, and scrambled to my feet, checking myself for injuries. That was when the thought hit me that I had fallen THROUGH A ROOF that probably belonged to someone who would be really mad at me when they found out that a teenager with wings had fall into their house. I brushed myself off, and I heard a small gasp behind me, and I turned, facing a wide eyes little girl with dark hair and eyes. I groaned and she called out for her mother, and I sprinted out the door and into the crowded street. I spotted Kyle through the sea of people and pushed through the crowds of people towards him. He was hugging Belle close to him so no one could touch her.

"follow me Kyle!" I cleared a path for Kyle behind me through the crowd of skirts and dark wool cloth, my paranoia began to close in, very quickly. I looked up at the sky and saw the lights of the phoenixes light showing Adam, Sage and Drew darting around in the sky, making them extremely visible, and people were beginning to stare and point, some women screaming at the sight of the,

"invaders." I sighed, we had really really really blown our cover.

"Come on." I tapped Kyles arm and he immediately started after me, walking the opposite direction of the people.

"Where are we going?" Kyle shouted above the noise of the people,

"Out of here!" I shoved a woman out of my way, and continued walking fast towards where the flat ground ran up into a mountain slash hill, a castle on the top, except it looked more modern, and not so intimidating, more like a huge house.

"Kyle, up there!"

"Can I fly?"

"yeah, GO!" Kyle ran and opened his wings over the people, and he lifted up and flapped to raise up higher into the sky. I followed, hearing the screams as I rose up over peoples heads, snapping out my wings and surged up into the sky after Kyle,

"Ky, go to that house and Ill get Adam and meet you there. Comprende?" Kyle nodded and I turned back towards Adam and the others. I reached Drew first,

"Were going to that big house, find someone important, Go follow Kyle." Adam and Sage must have overheard and were already making their way towards The house. I interlocked my fingers with Drew, and looked at his bruised and dirty face, I realized I hadn't given him any time, But he closed his eyes, and his slow, calm heartbeat echoed in my head. I turned, still holding his hand,

"Hold on tight." he nodded, and I poured on the speed, the ground blurring while wings felt like they had barely moved, and we were already over the huge house, circling. Adam and Sage circled with us, but Kyle never came.

"Where's Kyle." I scanned the ground around us, not seeing him, or Belles hair. I circled frantically, not seeing him. I turned to Adam,

"Find him, right now!" Adam nodded, and closed his eyes, before snapping them back open, and pointing to a cluster of trees. I raced down to the trees in an instant using my speed, and spotted Kyle immediately, Leaning over Belle, looking terrified,

"What is it?" kyle looked up at me, his eyes wide,

"Shes trying to come back. Shes bringing herself back from the spirit world to invade her own body and be alive again."


	40. Niobe

Chapter 40- Leah P.O.V.

Drew's heat radiated into me, and I scooted closer to him on the dry grass, hearing the chattering sounds as people searched for us in the trees.

"Kyle, what can we do?" he just shook his head, and placed the other one on Belles forehead,

"how do you know shes coming back?" He looked back at me,

"because she told me." I raised my eyebrows, but Kyles face was serious,

"She can't comeback because her body is rejecting her, she can't return to a broken body." I felt my jaw drop.

"Then fix her! put her neck back, go go go!" kyle faced away from me, placing his hand on the back of her neck, and with one twist of his wrist, snapped her neck snapped back into place with a crack, and her eyes flew back open, and she gasped for air, before her body lost control, thrashing, and her back arched, her eyes completely black, even the whites. Sages hand flew to her mouth, and she gasped, looking away. I stiffened my jaw and stood, facing Belle, who wasn't exactly belle anymore.

"Who are you?" I stared straight into her eyes, now pure black.

"I'm not Belle, but a messenger from the underlunds." I cocked my head at the "messenger."

"Yeah, the underlunds, and WHERE THE FUCK IS THAT." I shouted at her, lunging at her, but she quickly sidestepped me, Elbowing me in the back so hard I collapsed on the ground. I felt anger swell inside of me, and I leaped back up, circling Belles body, but not her mind.

"What is this underlands? Like the underworld right? yeah, I heard they have an insane asylum just over by the land before time and a boat ride from candy land." She frowned at me with an amount of stiffness that Belle never had.

"Your childlike behavior is inferior to the lady Mirabelle's, she would never act this way." She said with a matter of fact tone, her nose in the air, she was talking about Belle.

"yeah, uh-huh, well then you defiantly don't know "lady Mirabelle"" I mocked her tone and address to Belle. She narrowed Belles eyes at me, and I felt a pang of sadness seeing Belles face angry at me, minus the hollow, black soulless eyes. I flipped my braid over my shoulder,

"So, where is our little Mirabelle now?"

"Her spirit remains with the master of shadows, in the underlunds. I could take you there as a guide. Taking the Lady's place to find you was the only way to get contact with you, But we have to hurry, lady Mirabelle is one of the most uncooperative spirits we have ever dealt with." I felt a streak of pride, I always tell my flock to be as uncooperative under pressure.

"Fine, we'll follow you there, but don't try anything stupid." She raised her eyebrow at me, knowing that I was the one that was most likely attack her. She turned and walked soundlessly through the grove of trees, The sounds of the people closer than evidently comfortable for a claustrophobic bird girl. I looked back at Adam,

can you get a read on her? Adam Nodded,

I already did, shes a conjuror of some sort, and she works for the "master of shadows" she mentioned earlier. I frowned, what did this guy want from Belle? I shouted up to The girl,

"So whats your name?"She looked back at me, her face stiff,

"Antiodene." She looked forward, her all black eyes cold and motionless.

"So where are we going?" I asked, and she responded without looking back at me, still walking fast,

"To the Niobe desert, where the gate to the Underlunds is." I frowned,

"What gate? Like...road gate?" She chuckled dryly,

"No, A gate that goes down. Where are you from another dimension?" She laughed again and I scratched the back of my head, either she was really blunt or was just messing with us. Neither of which I liked.

"So how long Is it supposed to take to get to this "Gate to the underlunds"" her shoulders shrugged under Belles long blonde hair,

"Maybe about twenty days." I let my jaw drop, then shook my head in disapproval,

"No way, we could fly there in a day and a half! Walking is not an option." She whirled to face me, her empty eyes now filled with rage,

"You have no choice." I felt adrenaline pour into my veins,

"Oh yes I do." She frowned, her face angry, And she lashed out and grabbed my wrist, jerking me forward, but I twisted my arm, and she flipped over onto her back on the ground, her breath hissing from her lungs. I bent over her, hands on my hips,

"You wanna repeat that?" She snarled back,

"With pleasure, YOUR COMING WITH ME." She leaped back up, Taking a swipe at my head with her fist, but I grabbed it before she hit my face. She snarled, literally at me, and I kneed her in the stomach, causing her to double over, and I released her wrist and let her slump to the ground. I kicked her in the side so she would roll over so she would be facing me.

"Listen, give us the directions to the gate, and I'll let your spirit go, but you leave the body." She snarled up at me, her face contorted with anger, And she spit on my face, how she had the motor power to spit four feet straight up fathomed me, I so have to acquire that skill. Imagine the possibilities!

I slid an arrow out of my quiver, and anchored my foot on her chest, leaning my weight on my foot, wiping her spit off my face with disgust, despite her awesome saliva launching skills.

"Now's the time where you tell me where to go to get to your stupid gate." her face actually paled a tone, and I wish I had a mirror to see how scary I looked right now.

"The Niobe desert is right beyond the Sabers, due west of the Lady's lake." I pursed my lips, having just gotten here, none of these terms were familiar. I stepped back from her, ignoring the pained look on Belles face. Adam, pulled me back away from her,

What are you thinking Leah? I spun to face him, Glaring at him, but he was immune to even my best death glares. She sputtered and got to her feet, before turning and running away from us, then my weeping angel mother offered me some advice,

"Shes a spy Leah, she'll reveal your presence here!" My eyes flew open, and I charged after her, pulling my bow off my back, drew and arrow and released, the arrow hissing through the air before hitting her straight in the back, and she gasped and sunk to the ground, instantly paralyzed from the waist down. I leaped on her, pulling her head up by yanking up on her hair, hearing Drew shout from behind me,

"Lee!" And Sage scream. I pulled her head back, and tears were running down Belle's cheeks, but I pushed my feelings away,

"Who are you working for! Truth!" She began sobbing, and she shook, sobs racking her whole body.

"Who!" I demanded, not feeling bad at all,

"WHO!" She sniffled, and hazily replied,

"This organization called The Main." and she quieted,

"They gave me gifts that no one could measure." Then her head rotated fully, around, like, she was facing me, but her body was still facing the ground, yeah weirdest thing ever. Well that's not where it ends, this is when her body starts SHAKING and being me, I leap backwards, and a WHOLE OTHER BODY TRANSFUSES OUT OF BELLES, and lets just say I had a spaz attack.

She stood, and stretched, she had huge, metallic clawed hands, and she was wearing some tight white thing that would look SO much better grass stained.

"I was born to defeat you." I charged me, and I rolled out from under her clawed hand.

"Yeah, I get that a lot." I said in a bored tone.

"Kyle, get Belle, Sage, help me clean up here." Kyle sprinted past the conjuror lady and scooped up Belle, Adam hot on his trail, looking back at me, concerned. I faced her again, her black eyes sending chills down my spine,

"Sage, where's Drew?" She looked around absently,

"Huh, I dunno, he was right here a second ago..." I rolled my eyes and set a string on my bow, shoulder rolling to my left, under her claw, again.

"Don't you ever get bored of, ya know, being evil?" Sage chirped, and Andy scowled at her,

"No, Actually, you fucking ginger." Sage mocked hurt as she deflected a blow with her buster sword.

"Aww, to bad I have no soul either, otherwise I would feel bad for you." And she swiped her feet out from under her, breath hissing from her lungs as she hit the ground. I leaped into the air, an arrow in my fist, aimed at Andy's stomach, but she rolled to the side, my arrow sticking in the dirt. I landed and sprinted to retrieve my arrow, but was knocked to the ground, conjuror lady sitting on my stomach, her knees pushing my elbows down, totally limiting my movement, which I'm not a huge fan of. Sage took a swipe at her, but she, somehow, deflected Sages 100 pound buster sword with her metallic HAND. Either way, The momentum of Sages swing backfired and sent her stumbling forward. Andy looked down at me, a wicked smile on her face, black eyes icy,

"So, how to tear out your heart without damaging the soul of the Phoenix. This should be a challenge." I tried to buck out from under her, but she must have weighed a thousand pounds.

"Get off you stupid little bitch, shit, good for nothing ASSHOLE!" She traced a claw down the bridge of my nose and lip,

"Stupid words, your so such a waste of power." She chuckled, and I glared at her,

"Aww did I make the birdie mad?" And that was when a familiar sword thrusted out of her chest, staining her perfect white whatever with...silver blood? She slumped on top of me, and I pushed her limp body off with disgust, Drew standing over her, panting,

"I went after Adam, but you were in trouble." His eyes where huge,

"How did you...".

"heartbeat".

"Oh yeah". he offered me a hand, and I took it and he pulled me up, Sage standing ten feet away from us, brushing dirt off her buckskin tunic,

"Fucking bitch...said I have no soul..." I smirked,

"No, that was you." She rolled her eyes at me,

"Whatever." I laughed, Looking up at Drew,

"Thanks, I almost died, again." I said in a silly voice, and he wrinkled his nose playfully at me,

"Much obliged, little almost-dead-wildcat." Sage mocked at him,

"Aww, sarcastic love, how about we all glump?" I laughed and ran over to her, hugging her, and Drew walked over and hugged both of us, and that's a glump, best thing ever. Adam rushed over to us, grabbing Sages wrist,

"Leah, if you want to know the current news on Vick, he's tracking us, I can get us out of here, and to the Niobe desert." I nodded, and Vick burst through the undergrowth, looking bewildered,

"I felt a shape shifters presence, figured she was sent to attack you." I turned to look at him, my hands on my hips,

"Do all of those things have extremely weird hand problems?" he nodded, his face totally solemn,

"Yes, most of them do, the ones that work for the master of shadows are usually the weak ones, and even them you can't trust. The one you met in the woods before you found the cave is an example. She had flaws in her shift but was still quite deceiving." I furrowed my eyebrows,

"What shifter in the woods?" Vick looked at me with question in his voice,

"The one that attacked you used your memories to weaken you and attack your mind as well as you physically." I frowned,

"Oh." I looked at Vick's eyes, strikingly similar to Adams.

"Well, either way, do you know your way around here? were looking for the Niobe desert." Vick nodded, his eyes closed,

"Your looking for the gate aren't you? For Mirabelle." I nodded, And Eyed Vick's blue wings, I didn't think that avians could have.

"Another question Vick." His eyes opened, and her smiled at me,

"shoot." I nodded towards him,

"Where did you get the wings?" His mouth twitched into a sideways smile,

"Blue heron, I was born with them, where did you get yours?" He said the last part sarcastically, filling my head with questions,

"I was an experiment." he laughed out loud,

"And you really believe that?" I frowned, not shure how to reply,

"Come on, I know the way to the gate." Vick turned away from me, and I followed him, still absorbing what he just said. Kyle scooped up belle, and fell into a walk behind me. I looked at Adam,

Are you getting anything weird from him? Adam shrugged,

I'm not getting anything actually, just fuzzy grey, but its not like he's dead, but I just cant interpret anything, like he has a block on me. I felt like I had to trust Vick, but the other half of me felt suspicious, no matter how long I knew him for. At the edges of the trees, Vick pointed towards the town,

"We have to fly over the town, that's the direction of Niobe, Adam could get us there, but hes probably already worn out from just getting us here." I looked back at Adam who was leaning on a concerned looking Sage.

"Just Lead the way Vick." I smirked, and Leaped up into the air, his blue wings clicking on the air as her rose. I leaped after him, my brown and white wings soundless in the thin air. We rose higher in the sky, and The groups of people in the woods were given away with the torches they held that cast spirit like shadows on the trees. I leveled off under the dim undersides of the clouds, the phoenixes lighting the undersides of the clouds a distance away from us. I looked back at Drew, his face looking down in fascination at the lighted town, his black eye wide. I looked forward again, leveling off, the feeling of the wind swelling under my wings pushing me forward with just the right angle. The curve of the land ran into what looked like in the distance, an ocean lined with beach, stretching even out of my sight. I shouted up to Vick, one pump of my wings bringing me up next to him,

"How big is this place?" he looked up at me, shouting back,

"About the size of earth, just two continents though, the other is unknown, a mystery. We stay away from there." I nodded. What could be there? We flew over hills of the "green rolling" type, and grassy plains, catching the sight of what looked like wild horses, until I looked closer, catching sight of the spiraling white horns on the middle of their foreheads. Lets just they they rocked.

Eventually the grasslands and hills we passed turned dark, and the clouds disappeared slowly, and the dark blue sky and tiny stars, but two moons, not one, one a dark red, and the other white. I stared at the red one, and Vick said the red one was called Lucifer, and the white Narcissia. When I asked why, he shrugged,

"Its just a story." The ground below us turned from hills and grass and trees to towers of stone, dotting the landscape close together, like New york, just stone, and way, way more buildings. Vick angled his wings down towards them , and I followed, had a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, and I realized I was just hungry, bummer. Life just really hated me today. Vick landed on top of one of the pillars, sitting down on the edge, I landed next him, on my own pillar, looking down a good hundred feet down to the ground where the pillars started.

"Is this the Niobe?" He nodded,

"Most interesting desert you've ever seen, am I right?" I nodded, and the rest of my flock landed around us, eyes half closed. I rubbed my sore shoulders, tired, we had flown all day and a little more. But come to thing about it, the size of the continent we had just flown across was about the size Europe. I pulled my bow and backpack off my shoulders, Unzipping it and pulling out one of the plastic bags with deer meat in it. I pulled out the chunk by stabbing it with my knife, pulling out an extra bag, tossing it to Vick, seeing the rest of my flock already torn into their extra food. Vick caught it, and smiled at me,

"Thanks Leah." I shrugged,

"no problem." I sawed off a chunk of the venison, biting of a piece of it, chewing, thoughtfully. I rolled over onto my stomach, looking down the pillar and at the sandy ground, the shadows of the pillars blocking out any light that had the chance to reach the bottom. I rolled over onto my stomach, tearing another chunk of meat off my knife with my teeth.

"Hey Vick?" Vick's pale eyes shifter to me,

"yeah Lee?" I sat up, stretching out my wings behind me.

"The shifter said something about the master of shadows having Belles soul, Who is he?" Vick nodded, hes the Lord of the underworld, hes the one who is in control of this continent, which by the way is called Xyris." I nodded,

"Why does he have belle?" Vick's eyes flashed,

"She is the next master of shadows, she has already displayed her talent with negotiating with the dead." I frowned, negotiating with the dead?

"What?"

"She was able to speak to the souls of the dead in the cave, she had them destroy the silent angels, She is a descendant of the smokey moon, Lucifer." I frowned, Lucifer was a moon...

"but, Lucifer is a moon." Vick laughed a little,

"You, as well as your flock, are all descendants of either Narcissia, or Lucifer, making you avian blood. To be avian is a miracle, one has not been born in over a thousand years." I pointed at Vick's wings, tilting my head to the side.

"I'm three thousand years old, Leah. Your mother and I were the last living phoenixes. She created the moon Narcissia, named after her on her death, the day you were born."


	41. Protector

Chapter 41-Leah P.O.V.

I bolted upright, the dream slipping my memory, The sun sliding over the horizon. I sat up, my flock sleeping in the pillars that looked like lily pads. I stood, shaking out my wings in the cold air, and drawing their feathery warmness around myself like a blanket.

I thought deserts were supposed to be hot...like your baking or something. I jumped over to Drew's pillar, the cold air making me actually shiver, and plopped down next to him.

"Drew, are you awake?" I whispered, poking his nose, and he groaned and rolled over towards me,

"Now I am, whats up?" I smiled down at him, and his black eyes fixed on hers.

"I'm cold." he bolted upright,

"Your what?" I looked down at my hands,

"Cold, I don't know whats up with me..." His eyes tore from mine, and he fingered the blue stone on my neck, next to the red one with the eight point star.

"Its cold, it must be the necklace." I shook my head, I was born with the water stone, It wasn't supposed to affect me negatively.

"No, its probably the red one." He smirked at me,

"But your mother gave you the red one, isn't that one passed down through generations?" I fingered the red one, the star felt warm on my fingertips.

"You don't have one, do you Drew?" His face turned serious.

"What are you saying." I smiled, and unclasped the blue water stone from around my neck.

"My mom told me this was the stone of my protector, Your the only one who doesn't have one..." His dark eyes flickered to mine again,

"The promise to always be there for you..." I smiled,

"Your my protector Drew, this is yours." His dark eyes went wide, and fixed on mine again,

"But the stone chooses who it gives its power to. How can it be mine if it chose you?" I smiled, looking down at my hands. Vick had told me that the stone was rejecting me, because it was a water stone, and I had the soul of the Phoenix, the stone was the reason I was always cold and slower than I was supposed to be. But when I received the fire star, it countered the water stone.

I wrapped my fingers around Drew's wrist, and dropped the stone into his palm, wrapping his fingers closed around it.

"Its yours." His lips curved into a smirk, and he clipped it around his neck, the blue stone vibrant against his navy blue v-neck. he smiled up at me, and I felt my arms grow warm, and color return to my fingertips. The affects of the water stone gone.

"Leahhhhh, I miss youuuu." I looked down at drew and laughed, and he pulled me down next to him, burying his face in my hair. I stretched out my legs, leaning on my arm next to him, letting him pull me into him, and tucked my head under his chin, closing my eyes and breathing in his scent.

"Why do you miss me?" I felt drew draw in a cool breath above my head,

"Your distant, kinda cloudy like. And Your mother is pushing me out of your head. That's why I haven't been talking to you." looked up at him, his black eyes concerned.

"What?" "Someone else is in your head, and shes pushing me out." My frown deepened, why would my mom push Drew out?

"Can you do anything about it?" I asked brushing some of Drew's long hair out from in front of his eyes. He shook his head, black eyes glued to mine.

"Well then in that case, she sucks." He laughed softly, draping an arm over my waist, his eyes closing as he rested his head on his arm. I flopped down next to him, scooting closer to his chest, forcing myself to sleep.


	42. The underlunds

Chapter 42- Leah P.O.V

Vick shook my shoulder, and I bolted upright, another nightmare fading behind haze.

"Whats up?" Vick pulled me up by my wrist, handing me my bow, which I threw over my wing and shoulder.

"Were rolling out." I saw Kyle run a hand through his blue-black hair, looking exhausted with belles body laying at his feet, Sage throw her red hair into a messy ponytail, Adam standing next to her, arms crossed.

"Okay, where to today?" I bounced on the balls of my feet, the chilly air making me friskier than probably healthy.

"Were going to get back your friend, well, get her body to her, she can handle the rest."

"Wont her spirit power thing give her a huge advantage down there?" I heard Kyle voice behind me, and whirled to face him, I hadn't though that he knew about Belle.

"Who told you?" Vick asked,

"She told me," he tapped his temple,

"Dream." I nodded, still frowning, they had the same connection that Drew and I had. Vick shrugged, his blue wings rippling in the strong wind.

"What are we waiting for?"

"The gate is at the base of the center pillar. The pillar is easiest to find from the sky, as all the other pillars are positioned around it, like rings. I opened my wings, letting the wind pull me up into the air, my body making no movement, only my wings with the air swirling under me. I saw my flock rise up off the pillars, tearing through the wind after me. I turned, pumping my wings, rising higher through the clouds. The clouds mover away from me, making a tunnel to fly through, before I broke through the surface of the clouds, before tacking a deep breath into my air-sacks.

From the sky, the pillars were arranged in rings, like ripples, emanating from a single, thick pillar in the center, which was far in the distance. My flock joined me in the sky, and I pointed in the direction of where the center pillars should be.

"The pillar should be over there." I shouted over the wind, and Adam nodded, and leveled off, gliding through the harsh wind towards the center. I poured on the speed, and rocketed, a blur, towards the center, my wings barely moving. I circled over the thickest pillar, my second circle showing an elaborate gate, plated with pictures and skulls painted silver with blue patterns painted around the eye sockets and jaws. I landed on one knee in front of the gate, taking in with more detail the carvings and pictures decorating the huge gate, which had to be at least five feet taller than me.

My flock landed behind me, and I touched the gate with my fingertips, a carving that showed a woman being stabbed as her child was taken by a girl with spots and a tail like a leopard. Sage stood next to me, her sword in her hand, I looked up into her green eyes,

"Are we ready?" her voice was stony, ready to get back Belle. We all were. I nodded, and she raised her sword over her shoulder, and slammed the blade through the intricate lock that bound the door closed,

"They might want to get a better lock." She said, pulling the blade of her sword out of the dirt. I pushed the double doors open, faced by blackness and silence.

"Lets go." I breathed into the darkness, unafraid. We charged into the darkness, our footsteps thundered and echoed off the bare, dirt, tunnel walls. That was all going smoothly before I fell down a FREAKING HOLE IN THE GROUND. I hissed in a breath, and Sage shouted my name after me. I righted myself, feet first and forced my body to relax, After what felt like a week of falling, I flopped on the dusty ground of the cave.

I stood and brushed myself off, if you happen to be wondering how I wasn't dead, I wasn't tense when my body hit the ground, no rigidness, nothing to break. Sage shouted down the hole again, and i shouted back up,

"It ends at the bottom, use sonar and fly down!" My flock flew slowly down the hole, and landed next to me. We turned and ran away from the hole, using our sonar to detect the emptiness. A light appeared at the end of the tunnel, and I sprinted harder towards it, preparing to kill anyone if it meant getting to my best friend. I heard shouting voices at the end of the tunnel we were running towards, and I held up my hand to stop.

"Kyle, give me Belles swords." Kyle frowned,

"Your shure?" I raised my eyebrows,

"Now Kyle!" Kyle pulled Belles swords out of her sheaths, and I took them, their leather handles soft in my palms. I ran again, seeing a figure standing at in the light of the tunnel, his figure lumpy from armor, and her raised his sword, a battle cry echoing like thunder in the cave, And I hawk cried over the roaring sound. I reached him, and he swiped his sword in front of me, giving me enough time to shoulder roll under his arm and evaluate him. Armor that looked like onyx, with tiny silver patterns on the rolls of the black Armour.

I forced belles swords between the layers of armor, into his side. He gurgled and fell. But when I stood, I faced a huge underground world. A ceiling, made of stone, held up by huge pillars, houses of stone and a castle at the far side. But that wasn't where the cave stopped. The ground ran to the sides, before a winding, muddy looking river that ran out of sight, separating the city from the underworld beyond. And beyond, there were more cliffs, the sides of the cliffs a glowing orange, with rivers like lava roaring furiously at the bases of the cliffs, with a smoky haze rising out of the cracks in the bare, lifeless ground. Drew stopped next to me, looking around, his breathing silent. I looked back at the city, seeing guards of some sort rushing through the empty streets towards us, too bad these guards were like nothing I have ever seen before. They carried battle axes, same onyx armour as the guard back at the opening of the tunnel, except these guys were about three feet taller than the last one. I pulled my bow off my shoulder, drawing a red feathered arrow, and releasing the shaft, watching as it pierced through the eye socket of one of the armored guards, who clutched his face and fell to the ground, writhing. I drew another arrow, a perfect shot at another guys eye, and another, and a few more, until they got to close for comfort.

I threw my bow over my shoulder, and picked up Belles swords, before throwing myself headlong into the swarm of about fifty guards. The sound of metal contacting and scraping armor and the tormented screams as my flock charged through the guards, Sage pulling a sick back flip over their heads, bringing her sword over the chests of four guards, tearing over their armour. I spun belles swords through my fingers, the soft leather like silk. I brought down the butt of the right sword down onto the armored head of one guard, the left blade into his windpipe when his head snapped back. I whirled on my heel, bringing both swords down onto the chest of a guard who tried to sneak up behind me, and hand-springing backwards, bringing my right sword in a loop, driving the blade of my right blade under the ribcage and armour.

I spotted a guard forcing Kyle to the ground by the neck, Belle absent from his arms, an ugly purple bruise blossoming over his cheekbone. I growled deep in my throat, and threw myself at the guard, lobbing off his head with the two swords together, watching his helmeted head rolling away like a bowling ball.

"Where is she Kyle!" I shouted over the mini war going on behind us. He gasped, one arm supporting himself, and his eyes darted to my right. I turned, seeing a guard riding a bay horse away from us, blonde hair dangling like a waterfall of sunshine over his elbow. A growl tore from my throat, and I took took to the air with one flap and a leap, my wings slicing like a knife in butter in the still air. I honed in on the horse guy, and drew my bow, releasing an arrow mid flap, but the guy

SWERVED TO MISS MY ARROW.! I drew another, releasing it,

BUT MISSED AGAIN! Frustrated, I dove out of the sky, folding my wings at my sides, the air screaming in my ears. Just before running headfirst into the ground, I snapped open my wings, flapping hard to stay aloft in between the buildings, with no wind to hang on. The tips of my wings brushed the fronts of the buildings on either side of me, and I angled my wings up, one flap and I was above the buildings, but in the time it took me to get above the buildings, the horseman had gotten far ahead of me. I glided easily after him, and looked ahead at the huge Stone castle looming in front of me.

And thanks to my fantastic vision today, The row of hundreds of crossbows aimed at me were Crystal clear. The sound of arrows hissing through the air hit my ears, and I rolled like a fighter jet to the side, narrowly avoiding the wave of arrows, which clipped my left wing. I surged upwards, towards the top of one of the turrets. The Guards with the crossbows aimed at me again, and I dropped from the sky, losing the altitude I had gained. I raised my wings, in one powerful surge, I was at the edge of the turret, and barreled into the guards, my arms in an X. They fell like dominoes, and I righted myself, leaping from the turret to the over hanging roof over my head, my fingers wrapping over the edge, and I pulled myself up, and ran over the slippery tile towards the windows at the next turret up.

I leaped up to the next turret, throwing open the door, And hearing Belles wisp of a voice retreating from the air rushing in through the door. I followed the voice down a spiral staircase, down halls with shields and picture frames with old oil paintings, Oriental rugs with pictures of unicorns and warriors with wings and axes. The voice, being pulled away from in front of me violently, and I sprinted after it, opening my wings and lifting into the air, and darted after the voice down the hall ways, crashing through doors, my arms cut and bruised from the thick splintering wood.

I lost sound of the voice, and broke through another door, and was faced by a stone bridge, and a massive courtyard, full of fog and strange birds circling the castle. I dashed across the bridge, but one of the huge birds looked down at me from a ledge in front of the door that I needed to go through.

"Move!" I screamed at it, and it stepped down in front of me, its head turned so one yellow eye was trained on me. I drew my bow, but no arrow, and the pterodactyl thing screamed in my face, its huge beak opening right in front of my face, its fishy breath, literally, could have made my hair curl.

I opened it wings, and walked at me, and I rushed at it with my bow, hacking at its stomach, creating a huge gash in its thick skin. It shrieked and recoiled, snapping its huge, toothed beak at where I was standing, right after I shoulder rolled swiftly to the side, drawing belles swords, and beheading the pterodactyl on the spot, its massive head rolling to the side. I scrambled over the body. I flung one the door, and light flooded into my eyes, the room was huge, gold chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, a huge rug covering the floor, and balcony's hung off the walls, their handrails coated in gold.

The balcony farthest from me had a set of steps going a fraction of the way up the wall. I ran to the stairs, and opened my wings, in three flaps I was on the balcony, and through the carved door with all phases of the moon carved into the panels on the door. I pushed through the door, into a smaller room with four large torches in each corner, and a set of three platforms, the fourth not raised or not there. I leaped up the three platforms, and actually had to fly over the space where the fourth was supposed to be, no one, not even me, would have been able to jump over that... I veered to the left, down a narrow hall, a long, thin oriental carpet under my feet, when the lights started to to go dark, I slowed my pace and tiptoed down the hall, peeking around a dim corner, a row of torches revealing two more guards, each with a long handled ax that looked like it could really deal some damage.

One of them tapped the toe of its iron booted toe on the oriental carpet, and huffed, obviously bored. I looked beyond them, the door was blocked by a gate, that looked both to heavy for me to break through or lift. I looked at the torches around them, four in all, all burning steadily. I focused my gaze on the one nearest to the guard on the left, remembering the exploding angels back in the cave before Belle died.

I held up two fingers at the torch, feeling a warm tingling spread through my arm, and the flame flickered, and when I moved my hand to the right, the fire flared and died back down. I held up my second hand, and the fire to the right flickered in sync with the one on the left. The guards by now had noticed, and where muttering in hushed voices to each other.

I straightened up, and raised my arms, the torches exploded and became pillars, burning into the ceiling, and the guards gasped.

"Could it be a Phoenix?" The other one shook its head,

"Narcissia's last descendant died a thousand years ago." The other looked around nervously.

"Either way, I'm out of here." they rushed down the hall towards me, and I ducked, pressing myself against the wall, hopefully concealed in the darkness. When they had passed me, I leaped up, and raced towards the iron gate. I glanced at the pillars around me, holing my arms out to my sides, all four of the pillars flared, crackling wildly, I took a step back, dropping one arm, and facing my felt palm towards the door, and the pillars of fire wound down my arm, and blasted against the door, the hot tingling now a rushing burning, coursing like a wildfire through my blood. through the fire, I saw the gate melting.

I closed my eyes, remembering the ice of winter, and when I opened my eyes, the fire was burning white and blue, melting the gate. The gate turned red, and I dropped my arms, flickering my index finger towards me as I dropped my left hand, and the gate way pulled out of its place in the door frame in a flurry of white fire. I made a fist, an the fire disappeared, and the red hot gate clattered tot he ground. I leaped over the hot gate, and pushed open the door, revealing another room with two doors on either side, and a cancer in front of each door. I drew Belles swords, and the cancers turned their mottled heads at me.

I braced myself on my back foot, my fists tightening around the handles of belles swords, and they lunged at me, their huge arms hissing through the air, and I threw myself at the one to the left, plunging my right sword into the shoulder, before backflipping off it, crouched on the ground, leaping to the side when the other cancer brought down its huge arm down on where I was standing, a leaped onto its arm, running up it onto its shoulder, and making two deep cuts with belles swords into its neck, before it whirled, throwing me off.

I landed on a urn thingy, and it shattered under me, when I tried to push myself up, but the shards of the urn pierced into my hand, and I gasped and slid back to the floor, the cancers standing over me, their huge heads one on the left raised one arm over me, and pushed myself off the wall, and I huge blade pushed through the chest of the cancer on my right, and it howled, before its screams were muted, the blade pulled from its chest and it slumped to the ground, revealing Sage, breathing heavily, before Adam appeared on the shoulder of the cancer to my left, his double ended sword spinning through his hand, looking like a disc of black and silver, before he brought down the blade down hard onto the cancers neck, slicing deep into the artery on the side, black, oily blood pouring down the cancers chest and neck.

"Thanks guys." Sage smiled at me, her curly red hair swishing on the back of her deerskin tunic. I ran over to Adam, hugging him, even though her just stood there like a statue, before he wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

"Drew and Kyle found the throne room where they're keeping Belle, we ran after you, just following that distinct trail of damage you tend to leave behind." I pulled away from him, and punched his arm, lightly.

"Okay then, which door?" Adam nodded towards the left one, and Sage pushed it open, revealing the outside of the courtyard again, but a bridge that ran across a bridge onto the main part of the castle. I nodded at Adam, and we ran across the bridge, which ran off to the right after we reached the outer wall of the building. The door across the bridge was locked, and it was iron, so there wasn't much hope in busting through it, even for Sage.

"There should be a way to get to the top from another door." Adam nodded, and we ran back over the bridge, before snapping out my wings and taking off in the air, with extra flapping, because the air was so still. We soared over the castle, the courtyard below invisible under the fog and mist. Adam flew up next to me,

"The top of the main building is where the throne room is, its open to look over the city, big open front, we should be able to fly right inside." I nodded, and Sages snowy white wings to my left looked strangely out of place in the underworld of grey and orange. I felt a painful stab of pain in my left wing, and I winced, veering to the side, but no attacker at my wing. I shook off the pain, and the worried glance from Adam.

I looked up, the stony ceiling above me was a strange change from the sky, what kind of person would want to live in a hellhole like this? Wait, that was such a legit statement. I looked back down at the castle, its six separate turrets making the shape of a star with its bridges. Huh, how clever. I angled my wings down, diving down to where the throne room was supposed to be. I backpedaled, hovering in place, the opening of the throne room clear in focus. Eight tall, white pillars in front of the entrance, a red carpet running up stairs to the entrance. I saw Drew and Kyle flying towards me, turning, I saw Sage and Adam flying in behind me. I dove down to the throne room, the blurry images of, well, living things came into focus. I halted, snapping out my fifteen foot wingspan, a stabbing pain in my left wing, which I ignored. In my position, which no doubt looked cool, I looked up through my eyelashes, taking in the other living things in the room around me, which consisted to two cancers, a whole bunch of bull and ram minotaurs, and a guy wearing onyx armor, seated in a fancy chair, with sandy hair and striking tortoiseshell eyes.

He stood, and the remains of my flock halted behind me, and I stood up straight, ruffling my wings as I folded them against my back. He took one step towards me, and I tensed, even though he was about a hundred yards from me. He cocked his head, his eyes mocking.

"Your afraid of me, how ironic. Phoenixes are the most fearless of creatures." He spoke in a cool, mocking tone.

"Yeah, little bird doesn't fit expectation much, how about you hand over my best friend? Because I think We've done enough damage for one day." I spat at him, and he laughed, a laugh that filled the whole room.

"Bring her in, Forbes." A minotaur entered the room, carrying a grey belle,

"In my chair please." The minotaur nodded, Belles neck flopping back over its arm. Lucky for the minotaur, he set her down with the most care I think any bull could place a girl in a chair. She leaned against the huge arm of the chair, looking like she was sleeping. The guy with blonde hair undid his cape, and tucked it lovingly over her, brushing her hair out of her face and behind her ear.

"I had waited for my daughters arrival here for a hundred years, although her arrival here was not one of my choice ways for her to arrive, I have an agreement to make with you." SHE WAS HIS DAUGHTER? WTF? I stiffened, not liking the sound of an agreement.

"What kind of agreement?" I asked, trying to keep myself from staring at the minotaurs too long. He whirled around to face me, his eyes shone sadly,

"I want to know my daughter. her mother was kidnapped four hundred years ago. I never got to meet Mirabelle." I frowned. nothing he had said made sense.

"How could she have been kidnapped four hundred years ago? I mean, how was she even your wife? Were you even born?" His laugh filled the room,

"That is another part of the deal. You and your flock stay here with Mirabelle, and I will answer any of your questions." Ooh, good deal bro, good deal...

"How do I know you will keep your promise?" I folded my arms over my chest.

"And how Do _I_ know _You _Will keep your promise?" I laughed silently to myself. I looked back at Adam, who shrugged, His inky black wings framing his shoulders. I faced him again.

"Questions first." he smiled warmly at me,

"Whats your name?" He laughed again, jeez, he laughs alot...

"My name is Hemlock, named for a plant that kills instantly. But I'm more often known as the Master of Shadows." An image shot through my mind of the shape shifter, claiming she worked for the master of shadows. But she had taken control of Belles body, and attacked me, although "Hemlock" seemed to be perfectly friendly.

"Don't think of the shape shifter, she was not one of my spies I can assure you, none of my shifters would dare take over Mirabelle as she did." My jaw dropped, how did he respond to my thoughts so...exactly? His laugh rung out again.

"I know, I wasn't born a mind reader, but with enough training, I taught myself. You have a spectacular mind. A phoenix, I didn't know I had the honor of ever meeting another one." My jaw practically hit the ground as he lowered himself down on one knee, his sandy head bowed, and the rest of the creatures in the room went down on one knee. I heard my flock bowing behind me, major awkward moment, let me tell you.

"Um, you don't have to do that. I'm not exactly the phoenix." Hemlock stood up, Not even bothering to brush off his armor. He crossed the room to us, Shaking hands with Adam,

"You, are truly unique, pleasure to meet you Adam." Adam looked shocked, but grinned sheepishly up at Hemlock. She clapped a hand on Sages rocky shoulder, and she beamed up at him, her red hair tumbling down her back.

"Oh, you found the lady on the lake have you Leah? Tough ones, those forest people. Hate to meet one of them angry." Sage beamed brighter, and hemlock patted her shoulder. he walked past me to Drew, who's dark hair flopped over his eyes.

"You, are highly blessed, don't ever let go of those who you care about most, hearts are the hardest to mend." Drew looked shocked, and his eyes flickered over to me worriedly. Hemlock gathered himself, and stood in front of Kyle, who shifter his feet nervously.

"Thank you, for taking such good care of my girl. She thinks of you often in her sleep, her soul glowed warmly when you fixed her neck. But I need your help." Kyle nodded slowly, his blue black hair swishing over his eyebrows.

"Anything sir."


	43. Feathers

Chapter 43- Leah P.O.V.

Hemlock laughed, before his face grew serious.

"You, are from one of the most unfathomable places of Xyris, And I'm lucky that A healer happened to stop down today." Kyles eyebrows drew together,

"What can I do?" Hemlock looked delighted,

"Only healers can handle preserve souls. I gathered the pieces of Mirabelle's soul, but I can only revive so many, and the rest make their way to the afterlife. And once they get there, Belle truly dies." His eyes looked sad, and I totally understood.

He wanted to meet his only child, with her heart beating and her mind alive, what parent wouldn't? Although I was still getting over the fact that Belle actually had a father, I knew how he felt. I wanted more than anything to know my mother in real life. Kyle nodded,

"Anything to help her." Hemlock nodded solemnly.

"Follow me." Kyle followed after him, and we all rushed after Kyle, heels unsteady in the over-shaggy rug in front of Hemlocks chair. We stopped in front of hemlocks chair, Belles eyes closed peacefully, her skin a dull grey, blonde hair tousled.

"You see that pot up there? the one with the griffins on it?" Kyle nodded, behind the chair there was a series of statues, the one in the center with wings, holding in its hands a small blue put with griffins carved all over the front.

"Get the jar please, don't break it." Kyle nodded, and with three flaps of his pure white wings, black tips flaring, he landed in the statues hands next to the jar.

He picked up the jar gingerly, and leaped off the edge of the statues hands, flaring his wings just before he hit the ground, the jar unscathed in his hands. Hemlock took the jar from him, screwing off the top, and an orange glow from the inside flickered and shimmered. "I can't touch the soul without it slipping through my hand, You need to pick it up very gently and hold it to her lips. Kyle nodded, His face blank. Hemlock handed the jar to him, and Kyle tipped the jar over, and a purple blob fell into his hand, the glow turning red.

"That, is a Shadow Griffin soul. Like the phoenix, just from the underlunds." Kyle nodded, and shifted the blob to his other hand, which stuck to his palm before unsticking and landing with a "plop" into his right hand.

"Hate to be a sissy, but this soul thing is extremely nasty." Hemlock smiled and pulled his cape off Belle, buckling it around his shoulders, and gingerly pushed Belle upright in the chair.

"Just hold it to her lips. Kyle took a step towards Belle, and kneeled in front of her, holding the soul in front of her face. When he placed it on her lips, her face flooded with colour, and her hand snapped up to grab his wrist, and she literally, swallowed the soul, before coughing, one hand over her back. Kyle put one hand on her shoulder as she continued coughing, his fingers brushing under hers, and the sound of her skin slowly stretching over the hole in her back from earlier when we killed the shape shifter. Belle gasped a few breaths, before looking up at Kyle and launching herself at him, laughing and screaming. I screamed, I know, so not my scene, and piled on top of them, and Adam pulled us all up into a hug, and Drew and Sage hugged around Adam.

"We thought we lost you Belle." Tears were dripping down Belles cheeks, and her hold around Kyles neck grew tighter.

"Lets go." She mouthed to me silently. I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes. She released Kyle, and we all lined up, me in the center, and held hands. I raised my wings, and shot forward like a bullet, the throne room behind us as we raced past us, until I hit something that kept me from going through.

My flock continued through the invisible wall in front of me. I held up my hands to the glass in front of me, the panicked faces of my flock of the other side, Belles face contorted with furry, When I heard the voice behind me.

"We need you leah, keep you here until you molt, become the phoenix. We need your feathers. your flock will leave, but you never will" I locked eyes with Belle, who's eyes had turned yellow, her face a solid grimace, I held two fingers to the glass.

"Go belle." I mouthed at her, but she flapped upward, Her tawny and chocolate wings making grace full circles. before she angled her shoulders at me, and shot towards the glass, shattering a hole her size through it, before the shards rearranged and the whole closed up. She stood on the ground, her yellow eyes flashing, she held up her arms in front of her, and black shadows seeped through the stone floor, anguished shrieking filling the room.

"Lady Mirabelle, there is no need for that." I saw Hemlock walk towards her, but his voice wavered. Belle made a fist with her left hand, and the shadows shot up through the floor, swirling eerily through the room, their screaming making my head spin, I landed quickly.

"Mirabelle! stop this!" Belle smiled at him, before facing her palm towards him, the shadows swirling around him, picking him off the ground. She raised one foot, and the shadows collected under her, and lifted her up off the ground, like a platform made of darkness. The platform moved her to where Hemlock was captured, suspended, in mid air. The shadows morphed around him, creating what looked like a fist around his chest.

"You." her words were dark and fulled with malice. She sounded nothing like the sweet, peacemaking Belle I had known. From the ground, I saw ram minotaurs loading cross bows, and I drew my bow, shooting one in the chest, and rolling towards them over my shoulder, the minotaur I had shot made a goat sound thing, and fell to the ground. Two bulls pulled axes from their backs and charged me. I drew my hunting knife, hurling it at the one to the right of me, and it stuck straight in his throat. The other ran at me, and I Sprinted towards it, Pulling my knife out of the other bulls throat as I ran past it, and right before contact with the next bull, I drove the knife into its stomach, with the other hand throwing, the insanely heavy may I add, minotaur over my shoulder.

I continued running towards the Rams, and I know noticed, what looked like half-women half-jaguars racing towards me from over hemlocks chair, their long claws bright crimson, amber eyes trained on me. I looked back at my flock, who looked like they were arguing, before Drew, frantic, crashed through the glass, Kyle directly behind him. Drew landed right in front of me, His wings flared, and charged the nearest jaguar, punching it in the side of the head, and it flew about fifteen feet to the left, not standing once it was down.

"Thank you." Drew's dark eyes burned,

"Just keep yourself from getting killed." I frowned, And drew my bow, Pulling a red arrow back, and redesign it as it pierced the chest of the minotaur. I pulled three more arrows out of my quiver, pulling my hunting knife out of the stomach of the stomach of the Minotaur, Its thick, woolly hair sticking the the carving on the handle. I jammed the knife into its sheath, and hurled one of my arrows at a panther, hitting it in the artery in its arm, which sort of exploded and bled all down over the red carpet.

I ran over the writhing body, plunging an new arrow into its heart, pulling the the arrow out of its arm. A ram pulled the trigger on its cross bow, and the arrow nearly missed Belles head, and Kyle dive bombed from the ceiling, his Kitana snapping through its collar bone, the sound of snapping bone and blood bubbling through the cream coloured hair. Kyle kicked the body off his blade. I looked up at Belle, her arms folded over her chest, looking agitated.

I flew up by her, wondering where Adam and Sage had run off to. I hovered behind Hemlock, who was unable to turn to look at me.

"Ill ask one more time again. Why do you need her feathers?" Hemlock huffed, And his head turned away from her gaze,

"Choke him." I looked at Belle puzzled, but she nodded. I put my knees of his shoulders, looking my elbow under his chin, and pulled up sharply, restricting airflow.

"Want to tell me now?" I loosened my choke, and he hissed a breath,

"Your going to torture me?" Belle breathed deeply through her nose, closing her eyes, when she opened them, they returned to their familiar hazel color.

"Ill do whatever it takes to get you to tell me why you need her feathers." I raised my eyebrows,

"Fine." Hemlock choked, and I slid off his shoulders, swooping over to Belle, landing carefully next to her on her platform, which felt strangely solid under my feet.

"The feathers of a phoenix hold hundreds of uses. If we could acquire one molted feather, we could restore light to the citizens. They live in constant shadow, death is no different to them from living." he looked up at me, his eyes filled with sadness.

"Please, For three hundred years we have lived with no trace of light. As I have honored you before, I ask for a blessing." I looked down at Drew, as he plunged his sword through the heart of a minotaur.

"How can I help you, when I'm not the phoenix?" Hemlocks sad eyes fixed on me.

"The transformation to become the phoenix is one of the most stunning transformations known to Xyris. Becoming one is a long road of knowledge. Let me and my kingdom aid you." I looked up at him, and smiled,

"Help accepted."


	44. Kyle POV?

Chapter 44- Kyle P.O.V.

I clapped Drew on the shoulder, And he wiped his bloody sword on his jeans.

"Nice battlage bro." Drew laughed,

"Kudos to me!" I shoved him and he stumbled into a wall,

"Excuse me! Don't push a princess!" Drew lisped, fanning himself with his hand. I pushed him again, and Belle and Leah turned around the corned we were walking to.

"You guys lost in here too?" Belle chirped, her voice unreal to me, I still couldn't believe she was alive. Drew slipped an arm around Leah's waist, kissing her on the forehead. I wished I could hold Belle like Drew held Leah. Belle hip bumped me, sending shudders through me. She looked gorgeous, her long blonde hair tumbling like a waterfall over her shoulders, silver silk dress making her skin and wings look pearly, absolutely flawless. Her hazel eyes shone, and she held my gaze a second to long, her hand lingering near mine. Leah pressed her lips on Drew's, and drew away from him,

"Andale Belle bear, were on an adventure!" Belle looked up at me, her eyes locking on mine, bye Kyle." She smiled sweetly at me, her long skirt swishing the wood floor as she hurried after leah, who's moccasins were soundless on the wood. Drew elbowed me, wiggling his eyebrows,

"Oh shut up." I walked ahead of Drew, and ran into a girl who looked about our age wearing some maid getup.

"Ohay! can you tell us where were supposed to go...were lost..." The girl blushed immensely, and motioned for us to follow her. She led us down a hall that was covered in green, green carpet that looked exactly like grass, the walls moved with pale baby blue and puffy cotton ball clouds, a forest in the distance. It was exactly like being outside, except for the doors and pillars randomly placed. the girl walked forward to a door, and pointed at it,

"Down the hall and to the left." Drew pushed open the heavy wooden door, and a room filled with stitched couches, gold leaf coffee tables and chandeliers made of antlers hung from the ceiling. Adam and Sage were sitting across from each other on the couches, arguing over the right moves for a knight in a game of chess. Drew plopped down next to Adam in an overstuffed armchair.

"They can move either two spaces up and one over or one over and two spaces up." Sage leaped up, knocking over half the pieces on the board,

"I TOLD YOU! I TOLD YOU!" she screamed, her snowy wings flaring, and Adam tipped back on the couch, his hands held up in the universal,

"Whoa, Nelly." gesture. How could they be so comfortable here, when barely an hour ago, we had killed half of hemlocks army, Leah had choked him, and belle had drawn up spirits from the dead to use as weapons? Is nothing wrong with this picture? I argued with no one as I crossed the room to a huge bookcase, filled with Old books, the spines bearing names about subjects that I had never heard of.

One book stood out to me, its yellow spine reading,

"The Ceylon mountains." In bold blue cursive. I pulled it off the shelf, along with a cloud of dust in my face.

"Hey Sage, how old do you think these books are?" She left the couch, standing next to me,

"Probably ages, look at the dates." I turned the book over, a drawing of upside down triangles and the name,

"Ceylon." On the cover, in the same, deep blue text. I searched for a date on the book, but only found a series of symbols.

"Do you think these are the dates?" She shrugged, and brushed her red curly hair over her shoulder, and crossed the room again to sit across from Adam, setting up her chess pieces again. I brushed dust off the old Yellow cover, the three blue upside down triangles a vibrant blue. I tucked the book under my arm and walked over to the couch, sitting next to Sage.

"Don't put that down on the couch, that dust is already staining your arm." Surprisingly, Adam was giving me advice on furniture.

"Oh, my overlord, I couldn't dream of staining your precious couches." Sage snickered next to me, and Adam rolled his eyes.

"Overlord commands you to go die." Adam mumbled under his breath,

"Oh shut up you loooooovvvvveeeee meeeeee." Sage snickered, and set her last piece on the board. Adam leaned forward, moving his center pawn two spaces. I pulled the book onto my lap, putting my feet up on the coffee table. I gingerly opened the cover of the book, which looked like it could fall appart at any second. I turned through the pages, before stopping on a page with a woman who looked about thirty, her blue black hair pulled away from her face in loose waves, dark blue eyes almost black, rimmed with thick lashes.

I turned the page again, a lifelike picture of mountains floating in midair. I sucked in a breath, hoping Sage didn't notice. My stomach ached, like the acid was burning away what remained of my innards. Adam began to yell at Sage about cheating, and she cackled, hurling a dead piece at him, while Drew sat in his chair, eyes closed. I turned back to my book, Turning the page to a family tree, starting with a woman with pure white wings, the edges of them swirling and fading into thin air, her white hair like starlight, but she wasn't at all old, she just had white hair. I turned the page, and the family tree continued, before stopping, on a picture of a blue haired, blue eyed baby. I looked at the patents of the baby, both looked sad and lonely, one more than the other.

the woman's blue eyes looked full of tears, and the man, who was listed as her husband, had bags under his eyes. Neither of them were smiling. I turned the page, each with a picture of the lord and lady of the time, their dates of life and death, and their life story.

I turned to the picture of the Sad man and woman, their faces young and smiling in their pictures. The picture of their son striking me, like a memory. I read through the page of information, but the phrase,

"_The day the last descendant of the wind, Stolen by a leopard man, was stolen, all hope of future survival blotted out. The mountains of the sky, will die along with the rest of Xyris. Only the return of the dead can restore the balance of the sister continents." _What return of the dead? I rubbed my head, who was the last descendant of the wind? Could that be me, the baby in the picture had the same blue hair and eyes, I'm not exactly _stupid_ when it comes to problem solving...

I turned the page, but before i could read anything, the door banged open, and the maid girl from before sauntered in,

"Hemlock requests your company." Adam stood up and stretched, his eyes shooting daggers at Sage, who flipped her hair over her shoulders. Glancing down at the chess board, Sage had really pawned him, get it? pawned? Get it? Never mind...  
I stuffed the book into my backpack, and kicked it under the couch. I followed Drew through the room that looked like it was outside, And back into the grey, stony castle halls. We followed the maid, and entered a huge room, chandeliers that looked like golden butterflies, flickered with candlelight.

Belle and leah Sat at one end of a long wooden table, not looking engaged in conversation at all, But were instead eyeballing the food around them. I sat next to Belle, who smiled up at me. The chair back, instead of being flat, they had ridges in the back, like slits up the back of the chair, to rest your wings on, so they didn't get crushed behind you when you leaned back in your chair. Yeah best chairs ever.

I leaned back, enjoying the feeling of uncrushed feathers. The table in front of us was covered in plates of meat and bread, some types I defiantly didn't recognize, some I did, snails unfortunately being one of them. Hemlock sat not far from us at the head of the table,

"I'm glad you chose to join me, I trust your hungry." I grumbled under my breath,

"Like you have no idea..." Belle snickered next to me, and Hemlock either didn't hear me or chose not to react. When i reached with my fork for a piece, a server immediately swooped up the piece I was eyeing, and plopped it down in my plate, cutting it for me, and spreading a cloudy red sauce over it. I felt like I was six years old again, unable to cut my food or wield a knife as an eating object.

I stabbed into my newly-cut-meat-that-I-didn't-have-to-cut, and shoved it into my mouth, probably looking more messy than fancy, and chewed, trying to fathom how the meat could taste like both steak and salmon.

"I hope you found you main living quarters while you are here?" Leah nodded, Chewing thoughtfully.

"And the clothes, thanks, But I've never worn a dress in my life." I choked on my meat at the thought of Leah in a dress. Adam looked at me from across the table,

"She'd probably look better in a dress than you." I choked again, and Drew held his hand over his mouth to keep from spitting his mouthful of bread all over the table. Sage pounded her fork on the table, her head bent in laughter, Even Leah smiled, probably at the though of me wearing a dress and how to get me to wear one.

Dear lord, save me.


	45. wings in the lavalight

Chapter 45 - Kyle P.O.V.

I pulled open the cover of the book, the smiling face of the blue haired woman looking through the page at me. I flipped through the pages to the archive of my family, the sad faces on the yellow page. Sighing, I looked up from the old book, the tall windows at the far side of the room dark. It had gotten dark a long time ago, and the flock had gone to bed, But I couldn't sleep without the proof if these people were my ancestors.

I flipped to the back of the book, running a hand through my hair, making it stand up in the front. Another family tree, but this one was labeled. I instantly perked, and flipped to the end of the tree, and it ended with my name.

I breathed in, and leaned back. So I wasn't a test tube baby, good to know. I closed my eyes, but not tired in the least. When I opened them, Belles door opened, and she stepped out, every detail of her illuminated in the moonlight of the windows. She was wearing leather pants, wool socks, royal blue sweatshirt, her cream and brown coloured wings glowed in the orangy-red light flowing through the windows.

I breathed in, and she whirled to face me, looking startled.

"Oh, shit! I'm sorry I didn't know you were in here!" I laughed, and got up, leaving the book of the couch.

"Its fine, I was just reading." She smiled up at me,

"What about?" I shrugged, she looked so damn cute with those braid things in her hair...

"Nothing important." She nudged me with her elbow, sending shivers up my arm.

"Liar." I smiled down at her, and left her, sitting back down on my couch. She sat across from me, sitting cross-legged in front of the chess set Adam and Sage used.

"What was it really about?" I leaned back, breathing in the smell of books and leather in the room.

"A place called Ceylon." I opened my eyes, and She was leaning forward, her chin in her palm, eyes trained on me. I felt my face burn, and smoothed my hair like a selfconsious female.

"floating mountains, somewhere over the ocean, land of healers and some enchanted wind." She smiled at me, her eyes sparking.

"Is that were you think your parent is from?" I smiled, nodding,

"I actually have two parents." She bolted upright.

"EXTREME JEALOUSY OVER HERE!" I laughed and leaned back,

"Why would you be jealous?" She looked sad, her eyes still glimmering.

"because even though I have a parent, I'm still alone." I felt my heart lurch at the sadness across her face, and leaped over the couch to her, gathering her up, hugging her to me, and she dug her face into my neck.

"I'm always alone." I pulled away from her, brushing her hair away from her face.

"No your not. You never will be." She smiled up at me mischievously.

"And how can you guarantee that?" I rested my forehead on hers, her hazel eyes before mine, sparkling playfully.

"By doing this." I put one hand on the back of her head, gently, pulling her lips to mine, smirking against her lips at her gasp. She pulled away, her eyes sparking more than ever,

"I have always loved you." She choked out, before wrenching my shoulders over her, crashing her lips to mine, her smell was exactly like her taste, how ironic. I gripped the back of her head, my own spinning as I kissed her, turning my head to the side. She pulled me down over her, creating a cage around her form. Her fingers danced over my jaw and grasped the hair at the base of my neck, I broke away, gasping for air, she looked up at me and smiled innocently,

"Your a bad girl." She smirked.

"Loser." She giggled softly, gosh the sound drove me wild, I looked down at her face, the dim lighting of the room caused shadows to dance over the delicate bridge of her nose. Her eyes sparkled as she gazed into my blue eyes, her hands continued to play with the hair at the nape of my neck, causing shivers to run down my spine. Her hand ran down my spine, ending at where my shirt had rose up in my waist, and she tugged the soft blue (duh) fabric upwards. I sat up, pulled it over my wings, and with my extreme skill, allowing it to become stuck on my head,

"Wanna help me a little? I'm challenged..." She laughed again, and tugged the shirt the rest of the way over my head, throwing away somewhere across the room. Her eyes ran down my bare chest, which, I wont deny, was pretty smokin'. She leaned up, and pulled my lips back down to hers, her one hand on my chest, the other gripping the back of my hair. One of my hands became tangled in her long blonde hair, the other wrapped underneath her waist, pulling her closer.

I untangled myself from her, and she frowned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Wow, you suck." I smirked evilly,

"I can do that too." She clapped a hand over her mouth,

"oh my sweet fairy goodness did I just say that?" She continued to laugh at me, her eyes tearing up. I tried to wipe my smile off my face.

"Its true." She giggled harder, And I scooped her up, and she screamed softly, her arms wrapped around my bare neck. I bounced all the way to my door, and Belle stopped screaming, and cupped my chin in her hands, pressing her lips against mine. I set her down, and her arms went around my waist. I bent over, deepening the kiss, her hands on my back like electricity.

She kicked open the door and pulled me in, hip bumping it closed behind her, reaching up to kiss me again.


	46. Library

Chapter 46 - Leah P.O.V.

I bolted upright, covered in sweat. I scanned the room slowly, to my relief not seeing Essie holding a knife crimson with my blood.

I flopped back down of the silky red sheets, somehow these people knew that red was my favorite color. I rolled over onto my stomach, inhaling the smoky smell that the fire in the far corner of my new room was giving off. I threw my legs over the edge of my new bed, not wanting to leave its assortments of red blankets, The fire not penetrating the cold air in the room. I dashed from the bed to the fire, feeling lightheaded, and having to steady myself as I bent before the warmth.

I rubbed my toes, trying to get the heat to move back into them. I leaned back on my heels, my bare skin jumping at the cold stone on the hearth. I heard voices in the next room over to my left, Kyles room. I mentally checked Drew, but he was still sleeping. Oh, sorry, forgot to tell you, but now I can equally communicate with Drew like he can to me, I know, Cool right?

I crossed my room to my bed, snatched up a blanket, and stood with one ear to the wall, hearing belles laughing voice on the other side of the wall. I know, sneaky, sneaky Leah, shame on me. I heard the door open, and I dashed to my door, and fling it open, and ran straight into Belle, clunking heads. I rubbed my forehead,

"Eager to see me much?" Belle just bounced and giggled, before grabbing my wrist and dragging me to sit on my bed.

"What happened." She grinned at me, tipping her head, ever so slightly towards me. I bounced and gasped,

"Oh my gosh! No way!" She bounced with me, her hazel eyes practically shooting sparks.

"Oh my gosh Belle! You have to tell me everything!" So from there, Ill spare you the patronizing details of their heavy make-out session In Kyles bed. But she sat there and calmly recited everything to me, her face glowing. Belle had liked Kyle . But never had the heart to tell anyone other than me, believing that he didn't like her the way she liked him, which was ridiculous, because he was obviously head over heels for her. She picked at my blanket, which I didn't pay any attention to, until she held up a handful of my gold and white banded feathers.

"What the..." She looked at me questioning, And I furrowed my brow.

"I believe the term you looking for, is O.M.G." Belle smirked, and dropped the feathers in front of me, letting them drift gently down onto the red blankets, Even one of my primaries, long as my elbow to my wrist, had fallen out, and I extended my wings, seeing spots where the feathers were falling out.

"Why?" I looked up at Belle, My feathers were dull and spotted, not shiny or healthy looking.

"Put some pants on, theres got to be a book or something on this." I rolled my eyes,

"Yeah, because we both read sooo well." She bent to dug around in the trunk at the foot of my bed that had appeared overnight, and threw a red dress at my head. I yanked it off my face, and examined the red and gold beaded bodice.

"Fine, but only for the fun of it, not because I enjoy looking like I stepped out of a fairytale." Belle smiled at me, And sauntered out of my room, slamming the door behind her. I held up the dress against me in front of the full length mirror next to my door, the long skirt was embroidered on the bottom with what I now noticed were tiny gold birds, their tail feathers as long as their bodies. I pulled off my August Burns Red tee shirt, throwing it in the trunk with the other assortments of colored dresses.

I pulled off my spandex, and pulled on the skirt piece of the dress. It fell off my sharp hipbones, straight to the floor, the rest of the dress hung loosely of my shoulders, the sleeves falling to just above my elbows. The back of the dress had a dip that allowed me to wear the dress with my wings without slits in the back. I picked up the bodice from the ground, and stepped through it, pulling it up over my chest, holding it up with my armpits as I tugged the ribbons that tightened it in the back. I pulled the x-es in the strings, till the stupid thing was tight enough to hold itself up without me holding onto it. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, and ran my fingers through my straggly hair, before whipping it off to the side in a long side braid. I pulled on my wool socks, guessing no one would be looking at my feet, I didn't wear shoes.

I yanked open the door, Entering the big common room. I went up the spiral staircase next to Kyles door, almost falling down the stairs after stepping on the hem of my overlong skirt. I cursed, and hiked up my skirt for the rest of the way up the stairs. I ran down the hallway to the room at the very end, bursting through the door, not even bothering to knock. The door slammed into the wall and Drew was standing in front of his bed, wearing tight leather pants, a white V-neck laying folded in front of him.

"Oops, sorry." I blushed and tried to back out of the room, but he turned towards me, the cool blue necklace lying in the center of his tan chest, next to it a long, white scar that ran vertically down the center of his chest.

"You don't have to be shy." I felt my blush fade, and cross the room to sit on his perfectly made bed.

"Your quite neat today." he laughed, and his dark eyes turned to mine, before pulling the white shirt over his head.

"Actually, That wasn't me, a maid walked in this morning while I was out. Cleaned up my room." I cocked my head to the side, throwing my wavy red brown hair over my shoulder,

"Where did you go?" he crossed to room to a coffee table in front of three tall windows,

"For a fly, I couldn't stand being stuck in here." I rolled over onto my stomach on his bed, savoring the clean, piney smell that followed him everywhere. I picked up a leather bag, pulling it over his shoulder. I rolled over onto my back, my wings stretched out under me.

"I don't wanna go read." I groaned, banging my heels on the foot board of his bed. Drew snickered, sweeping me up off his bed, I wrapped my arms around his neck as he set me down on the ground. I had to crane my neck to looked up at him, his dark eyes warm, the dark blue streaks, now noticeable.

"So Belle wants me to read for you guys?" He rested his forehead on mine.

"Yeah, that's what she said." He pressed his lips to my forehead, and pulled away from me, smoothing his hair with one hand.

"I think Belle already headed to the library, wherever that is." Drew pulled open his door, holding it open for me, and I passed him, dragging one hand over his chest as I passed him. His foot snapped out, Trying to trip me, but I hopped over his foot, smirking over my shoulder at him. I picked up my skirt again, running down the spiral staircase, Belle waiting at the bottom in a simpler grey dress than yesterday, black woven trim around the bottom and short, unfeathered sleaves.

"Do you even know where the library is?" Belle nodded, her blonde hair swishing on the silk of her dress.

"I spent enough time floating around here as a spirit to know where everything was. Its all the way over by the throne room. Is anyone else really super hungry?" Drew nodded quickly, and his eyes bugged open.

"Are you kidding?" Belle laughed, and turned a corner, the cushy carpet actually quite pleasant under my feet. After wayyyyy to many turns and hallways, we were in the banquet hall we had eaten in last night, and Belle skipped across the room to a tall door, motioning us to come over, and slid through it, the door swinging closed behind her, barely missing her grey skirt. I hurried after her, passing the long table, dishes and knifes set up on the black velvet cloth. I pushed through the door, the smell of food making my head spin and my mouth water.

Belle was talking animatedly to a huge guy in a flour dusted peach shirt. I crossed the room to Belle, the heat from the dozens of ovens comforting. The huge man turned towards me and Drew, his tiny blue eyes twinkling all friendly and such.

"The lady Leah? Pleasure to meet you miss, thought you was dead we did." I nodded, smiling, and shook his hand,

"The one and only, I guess." he stuffed his huge hands in his pockets,

"Strange thing, you look nothing like your mum." I frowned,

"You knew my mom?"

"Shure did, frail little thing, She was." he hurried over to an oven, pulling out what looked looked like dough balls with flour on the top.

"Mirabelle, sit at tha table to your right, the round one. Ill get you and your friends some morning foods." She smiled up at him,

"Thanks, Pathol." She smiled softly at her, and retreated into the bustle among the other kitchen attendants. Drew pulled out my chair, waiting till I sat down before pulling out Belles for her.

"How do you know him Belle?" She shrugged, picking at the wood on the table,

"Just met him now." Pathol came back, a huge trey, with a plate of the white bun things with the flour, bacon, sausages, a loaf of bread, and what looked like cake balls.

"Thanks, pathol." I said, and the huge man just smiled at me,

"I'll get yeh some tea? Mirabelle likes those white coffees, She liked to wander around in here around mealtimes as a spirit she did." She blushed and nodded,

"Thanks." He bustled away again, And Drew handed me a plate.

"In case you were wondering Lee, he could see me as a spirit. it was weird, when he first saw me, he sort of jumped, and I ran away." I picked up three of the biscuits, a handful of the bacon, three sausages, ripped a chink of bread off the loaf, and bit into the biscuit, which was filled with like a cinnamon paste.

"Oh man! What the heck is this?" The cinnamon thing was freaking awesome! the outside crumbled away, and the sticky inside was sugary. Drew bit into one, and chewed slowly, his eyes closed.

"Its good that's what it is." He said with his mouth full. By the time we had plowed through the biscuits, pathol had swept over long enough to hand steaming mugs of white chocolate coffee and milk. I chewed the bacon thoughtfully.

"So, what do you think he meant when he said I look nothing like my mother." Belle shrugged, and Drew kept eating nonchalantly.

"Maybe you just don't resemble her." I shrugged, swallowing my bacon,

"Guess well find out today."

Belle pulled a heavy, leather bound book off the shelf, plunking it on the book cart Drew was pushing.

"This one is on Atlantis." Drew frowned,

"Atlantis?" He asked, and Belle kept shifting through the books under the card that Drew read to us as,

"Concealed territories."

"Yeah, its like some underwater city or something." Belle walked down the isle, pulling off another book, its spine coated in sapphires, and she tossed it at Drew, who barely caught it, plunking it down with the rest of the books she was collecting.

I felt a prick in my wing, making me flinch, but I ignored it, continuing to scan the spines of the books. I wandered down another isle, labeled,

"civilizations, rise and fall". I wandered down the isle, looking for something about the Fire Nation. At the very end of the isle, I spotted a spine, barely sounding out loud,

"Xyris, century of blackness." I pulled the book off the shelf, tucking it under my elbow. I found another older book, Plainly labeled,

"Phoenix ancestry." I pulled that one to, balancing it on my hip next to the other one.

I skipped one isle over, And saw a book labeled,

"Care and taming of rare and dangerous creatures." I smirked as I pulled of the shelf, Partly because of my boss reading skills and the book title, and walked quickly through the isles to find Drew and Belle, who were sitting at a leather table, the books from the cart piled around them. I slammed my three books on the table, and belle looked up at me.

"What dija get?"

"One on Xyris, civilizations, and care and taming of rare and dangerous creatures." Belle raised her eyebrow at the sound of the last book.

"Why did you get that one?" I shrugged, looking across the table at Drew, who was too absorbed in his book an the collections of spirit stones of the ocean. I slid into a chair next to Belle, who had pulled open a huge book about The ten thousand uses of molted avian feathers.

I flipped open the red cover of the taming of creatures book, to the glossary, in alphabetical order, with pictures representing the creatures. I turned the pages five times, and found another way to categorize them, by territory, with a map with the territories labeled and colored, different landmarks and areas numbered. I turned the page again, each starting with a number, a list of the animals under it. I traced my finger down the row of the animals listed in the core of the Fire nation Forrest's(Drew read, not me). Many of the names I recognized from years of watching animal planet and national geographic, panther, saber toothed cat, grey elk, multiple different types of foxes, wild horses on multiple locations, even the Underlunds had a delicate looking breed that to be saved from angry spirits to be caught.

From the fire nation was an all black horse, wavy black mane and tail, inky feathering on its legs. There were also names and pictures that I didn't recognise, three foot tall rabbits with horns, hippos with tails like dolphins, a horse from Atlantis with the iridescent tail and fin of a sail fish, Deer with scales and eyes down their necks, Snakes with the heads and necks of human women, birds that looked like pterodactyls, riders poised between their wings, Monkeys with catlike heads and hair, spikes bristling along their spines.

The pictures that made my cringe, were under the category, "Invading species." fifty foot long worms with rotating teeth, what looked like cancers, white bodies puffed up with bleeding sores, human looking "things" with knifes for legs, their heads missing. Hyena jackals, a small, tree dwelling cat that would tear off chunks of its own skin out of boredom.

I slapped the book shut after the tiny cat, the though of a kitten chewing on its own arm out of utter enjoyment was repulsive. I ruffled my wings, which now ached, an uncomfortable hot feeling like fire stinging the base of the feathers. I stood, and Drew looked up from his book at me,

"I'm, Uh, gonna go back to my room. Gonna sleep." he looked concerned,

"Do you want me to walk you back?" I shook my head, smiling, and Belle pulled a book off the bottom of the cart,

"Before you go, take this one." I tucked the book under my arm along with the taming of creatures, and wandered past the rows of books. I pushed through the huge double doors, the pulling pain in my wings became distorted, like pulling on every individual feather. I ruffled my wings again, folding them flat against my back. After wandering the halls, I pushed into the dormitory center, drenched in sweat, just from walking for five minutes.

I slumped against the wall, trying to gather my breath, my own rapid breathing scaring me. I stumbled across the room, falling like a sack of flour against my door, the red wood cold on my forehead. I leaned down on the handle, pushing it open with my weight, not feeling the strength in my wrists to turn the handle.

I took one step into the room, and collapsed on the floor, rasping cough rising from my throat, my forehead beading in sweat. I pushed myself off the floor, my back muscles felt sore and stiff, And I could hardly hold my wings up against my back. I laid my head down on the cold wood floor, my body's temperature rising and falling dizzily.

"Drew." I whispered, My lips feeling numb.

"Drew." I drowned into blackness.

I really need to stop passing out.


	47. Shadow horse

Chapter 47- Leah P.O.V.

A series of burning images seared through my mind. My stomach twisting, a familiar falling sensation making my head spin. Images and words splashed on the backs of my eyelids. A flock of red and gold birds lying lifeless on the ground, before bursting into flames.

The falling sensation in the pit of my stomach died away, the cold stone floor of my room coming back into focus. I heard my door crash open, Drew rolling me onto my back,

"Are you okay? I Heard you calling." I nodded, my muscles feeling extremely tight, like wound coils of wire.

"Are you okay?" He picked me up, holding up my head for me.

"Yeah, I think. I just blacked out." His black eyes were concerned,

"Do you want me to get Kyle?" I shook my head, flinching at the strain on my tight muscles in my neck.

"No, no, you don't need to do that." I let drew lower me down on the fluffy, red duvet cover, its deep crimson tassels digging into my back, not uncomfortably though. I closed my eyes, trying to stretch out my unnaturally sore legs, not even bothering to stretch out my wings.

I sighed, and Drew held a glass to my lips, he must have gotten water at the water pitcher by the mirror at the far side of my room. I hungrily downed the glass, my eyes wide open. And Drew left me to fill it again, and i downed the next glass in no time flat. His eyes looked worried,

"What is it?" I asked, my throat sounding parched and old.

"Do you feel any pain in your wings?" I shook my head, and tried to move my wings, but the result was a burning, searing pain. I sat straight up, white lights behind my eyes, the images returning. I clutched my head, and barely saw drew reach into his leather satchel, pulling out a wood paneled flask, pouring the watery contents unto the cup. he held it to my lips, and Once again, I downed the glass in three gulps, although it burned all the way down my throat, and sat burning in my stomach, my pain began to melt away, and the images disappeared, my mothers angry voice fading with them. I felt my muscles go slack, and all my soreness leave.

I FEEL ALIIIIVVVVEEEEE.

Drew P.O.V.

I watched as leah pulled herself up off her bed, her face groggy,

"What the hell was that?" She slurred.

"Special...juice. Yeah." She stood up on her bed.

"Whatever." She said, her wavy hair tumbling over her shoulder, shooting me what was supposed to look like a-seductive-drunk-girl-look.

"Are you okay?" I asked, and she began jumping on her bed,

"I feel FANTASTICCCCCCCC!" She yelled, giggling. I folded my arms over my chest, watching as she leaped off her bed, and stumbled to the door. I ran in front of her, pulling her fingers from the handle.

"Oh, keeping me locked up? Not a good idea, bitch." Had she just called me a bitch?

"Are you okay?" She spun around, her hair whirling around her head.

"Nope. Not shure at all actually." I walked across the room to her, Hoping the vodka I had given her would burn out of her system soon. It wasn't mine, don't get the wrong idea. the maid from this morning had given it to me while she was cleaning my room.

_Hope I see you again,_ I remember her saying as she pushed the flask into my hands. I crossed the room to the door, opening it and calling,

"Hey Saggeeeeee?" I heard her door open above me,

"Yeah Dreeewwww?"

"Do you wanna help me?" I whined, and I heard her huff,

"Okkkaaaayyyyyyyy." She stomped down the stairs, Turning to face Leah again. She was lying face down on the bed, groaning,

"What the hell was that?" She groaned, and I sat next to her.

"Nothing, How do you feel now?" She rolled over on her back, and Sage pushed open the door.

"I feel better." Sage sat on the other side of Leah,

"What did you do?" She asked, stroking the back of Leah's head. Her Eyes wandered down to Leah's wings, flinching slightly, before looking back up at me.

"What did she do?" She mouthed at me, her face serious. I shrugged,

"I think shes just molting."

"But her feathers ain't red!" I shrugged again. Sage looked back down at Leah, her curly red hair falling out of her messy bun.

"I think she needs a bath. I'm not Kyle but its my favorite solution sore soreness." Leah picked up her head, and dropped it and Sages thigh.

"Do you want a bath?" Sage asked her in a soft voice, and Leah nodded. It struck me how much older Sage was than Leah, She was twenty and Leah was seventeen. But Adam was Leah's brother, and he was twenty two.

"Ill go get the water running, Wait here...Like shes has much a choice." She mumbled, and I smiled down at Leah, who's eyes were closed peacefully.

"How are you now." I asked, and She groaned,

"Hungry, sore, and hot and cold, on and off." How is that even possible? Sage burst back into the room.

"Waters running, can you believe this place? Castles don't have running water!" She scooped up leah, and bounced out of the room, balancing Leah's head carefully with the back of her hand. I followed her down the stairs.

"She shure gets hurt alot, doesn't she?" Sage chirped,

"Yeah she does...accident prone I guess." Sage hip bumped through a swinging door, and disappeared through the door, the sound of falling water of the other side. I turned, feeling awkward after almost going into the bathroom with them. I left the common room to head back to the library, Determined to read about, "the city under the sea." There were no real pictures of the city in the book, because none of the authors who wrote the books could swim hundreds of miles under the sea, And the people who live there don't want to reveal the secret locations of their underwater villages.

The book I was reading was full of myths and old songs of water nymphs and mermaids. If mermaids were real, I could shoot myself. Who believes that stuff? and that its real and that my necklace origins come from a hidden underwater city?

Yeah, believable. I bumped into the maid from this morning,

"Sorry", I mumbled, and she flipped her ashy brown hair, opening her mouth to talk to me, but I scurried across the floor, pushing through the door to the library. I passed the rows of books to the table Belle, and now Kyle and Adam, were sitting around the table absolutely loaded with books of every shape, size, and color. Adam was even sitting with hes feet propped up on the table, a book in his lap, animatedly reading to him the abilities of the shadow traveler, moving pictures on the page creating the scenes of the story.

I sat down next to Kyle, Who was pointing at a series of characters, and Belle read them off to him with ease, and a tinge of boredom. Kyle looked Up at me,

"Do you get this? Belle can read them!" I looked down at the page of fine characters, totally puzzled at how they could make sense to her.

"So you can't read, but you can understand these?" Belle nodded,

"Duh, there just pictures. They tell stories." I peeked over the edge of the book Belle was reading, the page covered in the delicate characters,

"Its not like letters are so easy to understand." Kyle rolled his eyes and Adams book boomed about a guy who created a portal to the sister continent, and his brother discovered a portal in the fire nation to what they called the other side, (or what we knew as Earth).

I picked up the book I was reading before, Its vibrant purple cover graced with silver lettering. I pulled open the heavy cover of the book, nothing but myths. Stories about underwater castles, instructions on how to speak with wales and narwhals, how to capture a hippopotamus, all that fun underwater legend stuff.

I threw the book across the table, watching it slide through the other books like a hockey puck. I reached across the table to the two other books Leah had picked. One on the history of Xyris, the other of lost and fallen civilizations. I paged through the civilizations, not surprised to see Atlantis listed as one of the most unknown territories. There were six total territories, and a seventh, the smallest, that covered all known information about the sister continent. I paged through the book, absorbing as much as I could, about one of the most unknown places.

Leah P.O.V.

I pulled the damp towel off my head, the flowery scent of the shampoo or whatever Sage used escaping. I rubbed my head with it, appreciating the calming smell. I pulled the silky robe tighter around me, sliding off my bed to sit in a chair by the fire that was lit while I was out.

I stretched my wings out over the arms of the chair next to me, letting them drip dry in the stone floor. Sage had shown me a mirror, my white and gold wings were being replaced by solid crimson and gold feathers.

I gathered the old, dull feathers, keeping the primaries tucked next to my arrows in my quiver. i wrung my wet hair over the towel, watching the drops make tiny indents in the sort fabric. I inhaled deeply, feeling more tired than I had in ages. I leaned back against the chair, watching the fire.

Sage had gone to get me some dinner in the kitchen, and frankly, I was to tired to even go for a fly outside the castle. I focused on the fire, and My moms voice pounded in my head,

"You need to get rid of that boy, he will destroy our connection." I sighed, she had been going at this argument for hours.

"Oh, shut up."

"No, you need to listen to me. You need me far more than you need him," Oh yeah,

"and how are you in any way beneficial to my health?" She let out an exasperated sigh.

"I sped up your molting so that you wouldn't have to feel vulnerable later on." I felt my blood begin to boil, She was the one who had caused all the tense, searing, pain?

"That was you?"

"Don't be angry, its for the best." I was screaming in my head now,

"How is that for the best!" She sighed again,

"You don't understand now, you will appreciate all that I'm doing for you now someday." I groaned, turning to my side on my chair,

"Oh shut up, I'm glad your dead you know." I barely heard her say,

"Your don't mean that." before I blocked her out, Focusing on the fire again. Who would have known my mom was so crazy? She didn't care about what I felt or what I though. She was like a two year old, all sarcasm, stubbornness and bipolar-ism. I hugged my knees to my chest, wondering if my mom was the only one of my parents That still existed. I rested my forehead on my knees, Inhaling deeply, struggling to keep my mind blank. I picked up my head, resting my chin on my knees, watching the orange fire.

The memory of the torches in the hall swarmed through my mind. I held two fingers towards the fire, and felt the slow sensation of fire coursing through my veins, my energy level go from one to a thousand. I fire roared and flared again, turning a powdery blue. I held up my left hand, and the fire roared louder, becoming a white pillar up the chimney. I slowly brought my hands back, holding them over my temples, like a psychic.

The fire swirled, and a ball of it separated from the fire place, and swirled in front of my face, its warmth instantly drying my hair. I felt the fire sear under my skin, the painful prickling in my wings worsening, but I ignored it, focusing only of the fire floating in front of my face. I straightened out my wings, and a fierce wind roared from the fire I was holding, knocking away the chairs and coffee table around me.

I bent my head into the wind, not for a second even daring to blink while watching the blue fire. The wind slowly died down, and I tossed the fire back into the fireplace. I felt full of energy and bouncy, And I bounced over to the chairs that had been thrown across the room, picking them up easily, and putting them back in their positions in front of the fire. I ruffled my wings, and slipped on something on the floor. i looked down, and a puddle of white feathers with gold bands and brown backs lay in scattered puddles all over the floor. I gasped, and dashed over to my full length mirror, yanking off my robe, leaving me in my bra and spandex. I stood in front of the mirror, and slowly extended my wings, before clapping one hand over my mouth and squeaking. My feathers were pale gold, growing strongly into gold, and fading into a deep crimson.

I squeaked more, Ruffling my wings, and blinking profusely, trying to wake up from whatever dream that had that I had gold and red wings in.

I turned around, looking over my shoulder at my wings in the mirror, the back of the feathers were a dark crimson, edged with a glimmering ring of gold. My wings felt light, And I flapped them fast against the air, the strength of the beats against the floor sending currents of air up in my face, blowing my hair up behind my back. I giggled to myself, and ran to my trunk, threw off the lid, pulling my August Burns red shirt over my head, Pushing my new wings hurriedly through the slits, suddenly full of a new energy I had never felt before. A wild energy. I leaped over my bed in one bound, and threw myself towards the windows, not even bothering to open them, just crashing through them, the windows clapping against the stone walls of the outside of the castle.

No fear, only the exhilaration of falling towards the ground, the wind whipping past me, through my hair. I snapped open my new wings, my feet brushing the ground as I turned up towards the celling of the underlunds above me. I unhinged my shoulder blades, Pumping my wings upward, feeling the light feathers swim through the hot air.

I pushed myself to climb faster, but the challenge never came, I only moved faster through the air. I leveled off, feeling relentless and wild. I pushed my wings down, each beat pushing em faster through the air, the wind like silk against my bare skin. I would around the pillars that held up the ceiling, my wings sooo much more agile and light than my originals.

I pulled in my wings, throwing my body weight to the left, and my body went spinning, fast as hell, to the left, the world around me spinning wildly, I laughed out loud, And snapped out my wings again, Flying forward with so much more speed, that I had ever felt, besides when I do that things where I fly faster than the speed of sound

OH WAIT! How fast could that be now? I hovered for a second, facing the castle, before thoughtlessly pouring on the speed, before hitting the glass to a huge window. What the heck? I shook my head, righting myself, and peering through the huge windows, seeing Belle, Adam, Kyle, and Drew pushing through what looked like a dozen of panicking maids and such.

Shit, Adam's gonna be pissed! I folded my wings and dropped, the windows to the sides of the huge window opening, four pairs of wings dropping out of the windows. I whirled, and pushed my wings down, surging faster through the air with every down stroke. I was flying over the part of the underlunds where all the spirits of the dead people lived, it looked like you would expect hell to look like, dark, rocky ground, huge gashes in the earth that revealed deep pits of lava. A group of grey, black and brown horses with delicate noses ran below me, their huge brown eyes showed white rings, I flew low to them folding my wings and diving, flying right alongside them, totally forgetting I was being pursued by most of my flock.

I was just chuckling at how I was seeing real horses for the first time in my life, when I was tackled to the ground, getting dirt in my mouth and on my precious band tee-shirt. I rolled my back, throwing the person off me, scrambling to my feet.

"What the fuck?" I screamed, turning and towering over Drew, who was lying on his back, pushing himself up off the ground. Adam landed behind him and helped him up, I put my hands in my hips and turned away, walking towards the herd of grey horses that were slowly galloping away from me. I heard Sage and Belle land behind my back, and tucked my bright red and gold wings tighter against my spine, hoping they wouldn't notice them.

"Lee, what are you doing?" I felt Sages hand on my shoulder, not bothering to shrug it off,

"What does it look like!" I snapped, and her hand jumped away from my skin.

"What did we do?" She asked, her quiet voice tentative. I tensed,

"No, you didn't do anything." I dragged my toes in the dirt, the black nail polish on my toes chipped. I heard Adams hair swish on his neck, he was telling someone mentally to leave, and Kyles wings opened, followed by Sages, and his own. I hugged myself, watching the horses, wishing I could pull my wings tighter against my back. My senses had spiked, and every tiny sound and smell around me was enhanced, leaving me feeling jumpy and nervous.

"Leah." Drew's voice was directly behind my ear, and I shuttered, his breath cold on my neck. I rolled onto the outsides of my feet, ducking my head.

"Why did you fly into a castle? Trying to fly through solid surfaces again?" I tried not to laugh, but ended up strangling a chuckle, sounding like I was choking.

"Not necessarily..." he laughed, and His arms wrapped aver my shoulders, exhaling. I leaned back into him, deeply inhaling his piney scent, his skin cool. He rested his head on my shoulder, And I tried to tune into him, but failed.

"Drew?" he raised his head,

"Wildcat?"

"Can you hear my thoughts still?" He picked up his head, and Belle shifted her feet behind us, busy sitting on the ground or something.

"No, just a heartbeat." I frowned,

"Really?"

"No, I'm lying to you, I'm just blocking out our every connection, because I hate you so much." He said casually, and I kicked backwards at him, hitting him in the shin with my heel, but he didn't respond. The horses in the background stopped galloping, and some put their heads down to graze. I heard Belle flop down on the grass behind us, huffing.

"Hey lee?" She asked, rolling around in the dry grass,

"Yea, Belle bodacious?" Drew snorted,

"Have I ever told you I really like horses?" She crawled on the ground on her stomach next to me and Drew, rolling over onto her side, her eyes fixed on the colorful horses on the distance.

"No, Guess you did now." She pushed herself up off the ground, and reached under her skirt, pulling out a black bridle with silver plating,

"Will you hold this for me?" She asked, a sweet smile blooming over her face, I sighed, and took the bridle from her.

"What is your evil master plan?" She smiled at me again,

"Oh, nothing of great importance..." She said, and her eyes focused on the horses again. Black shadows leaped up through the ground, surrounding the delicate horses, who sprung away from the black shadows, their tails and heads raised.

"Belle! stop that!" I hissed at her, shaking her arm.

"Don't worry about it! I'm not hurting them! I'm appalled that you would even think that!" She looked at me with her eyebrows raised, and turned her gaze back towards the horses, and a thick wall of shadow burst up through the ground behind them, the shadows taking the form of a huge gaping face. Some of the horses screamed, and the herd whirled and thundered towards us.

"Belle..." Drew slowly asked, and back away from the herd thundering towards us. She smiled, her eyes scanning the herd,

"Hey lee do you see the grey one? Little one in the back? The dapple one?" I nodded, panic rising in my thoat as the horses neared us. I focused on the herd, a sweet looking grey in the back with a dished face and the whites of its eyes showing in terror.

"Yeah, I do."

"Its pretty..." She said, and the wall of shadow crashed with a shriek over the herd, closing off the grey horse from the rest. The herd thundered away, leaving the grey behind, who screamed and reared in the dome of shadow.

"Hurry! give me the bridle!" She squealed, snatching the clack and silver bridle out of my hand with out a reply. She sprinted across the grey grass to her Shadow dome, her flashing blonde hair and grey skirt flying out behind her.

"What the hell is she trying to do?" Drew asked aloud. I ran after her, and she held out a hand to the dome, which melted away from her touch, the horse calming at the retreat of the shadows. She dropped the bridle in the grass, Murmuring softly to the horse, who stood still and watched her. She dropped down slowly to one knee, and the horse slowly walked toward her, its long grey neck holding its dished face close to the ground. It jerked up its head again, and Belle stood, not bothering to brush the dry, gravely dirt off her skirt. She held out her hand to the horse, and it inched towards her.

I shifted my feet, what if it plowed over her? Bit her arm off? Was actually a rabid vampire animal? It touched its delicate nose to her hand, and nickered softly, allowign her to bend over in the grass, scoop up the bridle, and slide it over the horses head in put the bit in its mouth. She rubbed its neck,

"What a good girl!" I folded my arms, what was Belle thinking? She gathered up the dark reins from the ground and walked towards me, beaming.

"Hey Lee!" She called, The little grey walking after her, its grey head and nose held proudly above Belles head.

"What!" I called back, And she stopped, giggled and jumped up and down,

"I HAVE A HORSE!" She cried, And wrapped her arms around the horses neck, and it just stood there, not moving a muscle, only blinking its soft brown eyes slowly. I ran over the grass to her, my heart fast pounding in my chest finally slowing down. I wasn't gonna be a party pooper to her, were best friends for goodness sake! I reached her, with Drew on my heels,

"Come on! you don't lead horses around like that! you ride them!" She looked fearful for a second,

"Oh." She said solemnly.

"But I dunno how." She muttered,

"Oh shut up, just sit there." I faced The horses neck,

"Okay, But boost me!" she commanded, and I laughed, kneeling on one knee on the ground. Drew put a hand on her waist, and she stepped on my knee, and threw her other leg over the horses back. The grey Immediately trotted off, and Belle gathered up the reins, holding them taunt in a straight line to the horses mouth. She squeaked, and grabbed a handful of the white and grey mane.

"Am I doing this right?" She called back, her long skirt concealing her legs as she rode.

"You look fantastic!" Drew and I called at the same time. She clicked her tongue, and tapped the horse in the sides with her legs, and it broke into a canter, picking up its feet proudly, tossing its dished face. I nodded at Drew, Who was smiling and watching Belle and the horse gallop over the dry ground.

"Lets go." I said, taking his hand, Feeling energy boil up in me again. I tugged on his hand, and ran after belle, flares of electricity running up and down my arm. We ran faster after Belle, who looked back at us, her face glowing, her one hand tangled in the horses starlight colored mane. The stone castle loomed before us, Belle called over to us,

"Lets race!" She shouted over the whiz of of the grass under our feet. I nodded, and she leaned low over the horses neck, clicking with the side of her mouth, and its steps quickened, Its ears pricked forward, It pulled ahead of me with speed I had not expected. I looked back at Drew and smirked, And he smiled at me, dropping my hand, and I focused of the castle in front of us, and speed up my pace, But Belle slowly was pulling farther and farther away from us, her hair flowing in behind her. I extended my wings, lifting into the air with one downbeat of my wings, and rose higher, my speed exhilarating, feeling like an arrow through the air. I turned over in the air, my wings weightless in the air.

I spun circles in the air, and leveled off, diving down, folding my wings at just the right angle, the air hissing past me, as I leveled off night next to Belle, who's horse under her gave a small buck before charging ahead again, Belle laughing and clinging to the silvery mane. I looked over my shoulder, and Drew was less than ten feet behind Belle, looking completely un-tired. I made a face at him, and he screwed up his own, making him look, well, stupid.

Belle pulled lightly on the dark reins, and the grey slowed its pace, and I backpedaled, before landing on the ground, tacking a few extra steps, my momentum throwing me forward. Drew ran up to me, not even sweating, and hugged my shoulders.

"Wow Bell, That horse can run!" he said, sounding not even slightly winded. She laughed, sliding down off the horses back, and patted its sweating neck.

"Its a lady, and her name is Cloud." Belle said proudly, And beamed at the horse, who rubbed its nose on her shoulder. I laughed,

"And how do you know clouds a girl?" I asked, and she looked at em mischievously, whispering,

"Because she has no balls." I choked, and Drew laughed out loud, Belle just standing there like she had done absolutely nothing.


	48. pointless barn chapter

Chapter 48- Leah P.O.V.

So after we had walked around the outside of the castle a few million times, Hemlock had charged at Belle when we rounded to the front of the castle, Hugging her and begging to know if she was hurt and how she managed to tame a wild underlund Arabian. She rambled through the whole story, leaving Hemlock staring in amazement at her, sitting sideways on clouds back.

Cloud eyed hemlock suspiciously before putting her head down and munching on the dry grass.

"I think we could put her in one of the boxes. We used to keep horses when we were in partnership with the fire nation." He said, and motioned for Belle to follow him. She threw her leg over Clouds back and gently squeezed her sides, coaxing her into a walk. Drew and I followed her and hemlock through an old wood and leather door, past iron doors and Into a dark corridor, lined with big, iron and wood painted stalls, large dips in the metal for the horse that was inside to poke its head out into the isle. Hemlock touched a torch and it sprung to life, and he walked down the isle, lighting every one of the torches, filling the isle with bright light. He reached through the bars of one of the stalls, a look of peace spreading over his face.

"We only have three horses left, the rest escaped when we were invaded ten years ago." A blue roan poked its head out into the isle, and a second with a brown and white patched neck and another white horse with a pink nose and blue eyes. He pointed at another double door next to a door with a light shining behind it.

"That's an arena, I recommend riding in there. That's the tack room," He said, pointing to the door with the light behind it.

"Pick the black saddle, it'll match the bridle." He said, and swept out of the hall, planting a kiss on Belles head as he left.

"Good relations with your dad, Belle?" I asked, and walked down the isle towards the horses. She shrugged, tugging on Clouds reins. Cloud had frozen as soon as she entered the hall, her eyes wide and her nostrils flaring. Belle crooned to her and Cloud warily walked after her, following her into a stall next to the blue roan. Belle undid the bridle and pulled it over her head, letting Cloud spit out the bit.

Belle patted her neck and walked out of the stall, letting Cloud scream and throw a fit as Belle vanished from her sight.

"Belle, give me that. Ill put it away and get you some brushes." Belle handed me the bridle and vanished into the stall, Clouds screaming instantly stopping. I pushed open the room that Hemlock had called the tack room, Drew following me. As soon as the door was open, We were hit with the smell of leather.

The room was lined with saddles of all sorts of colors, above them bridles with all sorts of bits and brow band designs. There was a black one in the corner with red velvet seat, carved silver rivets in the back of the seat. above it, its hook had no dust on it, and the bridle was missing. I put the bridle on the hook, and turned out of the room, leaving Drew to poke around, scooping up what looked like a hairbrush another body brush that was the length of my hand with long, stiff bristles. I carried them out to where Belle was standing the the stall, Cloud standing stock still in the middle of the box.

"Hows she doing?" I asked, handing the hairbrush to her,

"Can you tell?" She asked, her eyebrows raised,

"Shes like a statue." I nodded, flicking dust off her neck with the stiff brush. The Blue roan was looking through the spaces in the boards at Cloud, His dark eyes curious at having a stall buddy next to him. Belle tore out the tangles in Clouds mane, and Drew appeared at the doorway of the stall.

"Should I tell Adam your here?" He asked, and threw a flake of hay to Cloud, who warily noed through the hay before delicately gathering a clump of hay and chewing.

"Why can't he just ask where I am himself?" I asked, Wrenching my wings flat against my back. Drew shrugged, and Left the threshold of the stall, his footsteps moving down the hall. I pat/slapped Clouds neck and followed drew, who was standing in front of the all white horses stall, reading a plaque on the top of the door that held him in.

"Whats his name?" I asked, and Drew's mouth twitched up,

"Ghost. You know, you should really let me teach you to read." I shook my head,

"nope, don't need to. that's your job!" I said, folding my arms over my chest defiantly. Belle left the stall with the brushed in her hands, pushing the door closed, and clouds dished face appeared in the little window.

"All done. I'm starving, What time is it?" She asked, shaking out her hair.

"You think either of us know?" She huffed at me, and threw the brushes in the tack room.

"Then its dinner time because I said so then." She said, and walked out of the door to outside. Drew raised his eyebrows at me, and we followed her back out into the heat. Belle was standing facing the outer part of the hell looking land.

"What do you see when you look out there?" Drew asked her, And she smiled bitterly up at him, her hazel eyes sad.

"Nothing In particular." her eyes flickered over me, her bare smile grimacing. She spread her wings, tacking several steps before rising up into the hot sky, Drew following after her. I looked out to where she was looking, squinting, but all I saw were the clouds of smoke, red lava and heat waves seeping up through the cracks in the dry ground.

"What the hell does she see?" I mumbled to myself, before snapping my wings open, instantly snapping them open again, rising up off the ground, my stomach left behind. In one flap I had caught up to Belle and Drew, Looking sideways at my wings frowning. Drew tapped the top of my dark red wing, a dim smile over at me. He must have tried to talk to me mentally, but failed.

_I'm sorry. _I mouthed at him, but he shook his head sadly, his black hair sweeping over his forehead. We flew up the wall to where they dropped out the library windows, and crawled back into the tiny windows, Which I will assure you, flying through a two foot wide window is not a skill we have acquired over the years. I tumbled headfirst through the window, crashing headlong into a group of tables and chairs.

"Shit!" I heard Belle scream as she snapped her wings open in front of a bookcase and fell straight to the ground. Drew landed carefully next to me, and offered a hand to help me up.

"Thanks." I mumbled, and he smiled at me. Belle walked up next to me, rubbing her shoulder,

"My stomach is going to implode. Food please?" Belle whined and began walking away from us towards the exit from the library. I looked up at Drew, lacing my fingers with his.

"Food times." He nodded, resting his chin on the top of my head.


	49. Blue orchard

Adam P.O.V.- Chapter 49

I sat across from Leah, whose fists were clenched as she stood behind the chair, obviously uncomfortable at the cancers that had suddenly filled the room.

Are you okay? I asked her, and her head snapped up at me from where she was looking down harshly at the wooden bowl in front of her.

Oh yeah, Just peachy. I sighed, rolling my eyes, rolling back onto my heels, we had been in the underlunds for three weeks, and Leah was getting restless. The whole flock was actually, no one liked being in one place for a long time, especially with strange people we didn't know being all around us at all times. I looked down the table at Sage, whose loose red curls hung past her shoulders, a dark green dress making her pearly skin look flawless. Her eyes met mine, and I smiled at her, and she smiled shyly back at me,

How are you doing down there? I asked, and she responded,

I'm practically shitting myself i'm so nervous. She said, bouncing a little next to Drew, who looked stoic and unemotional. Kyle shifted uncomfortably next to Belle, who looked around the room with more interest than necessary, when I read her thoughts, she was watching the spirits in the ceiling throwing around one of their heads, Ugh...I could have gone all day without knowing that.

I looked back down at my feet, my toes covered by new boots, ones that were given to me by the people that come into our rooms at night to clean and such. I could feel their presence as I slept, The sleeping consciousness of the flock around me, But Sages dreams always stood out to me the most. She was always so happy, so pure, like the reality of the world never really stuck with her. I was caught of my daydream when the doors at the other end of the room slammed open, and we all jumped. hemlock walked into the room, two bull minotaurs at either side of him and Vick behind him. How did Vick get down here? he told me he would wait for us to return to the surface?

Why did you come down here? I asked him, and he chose a chair next to Leah, Who pulled it out for him, eyeing a bruise forming over his right eyebrow worriedly.

There are some, well...problems, On the surface. I need to talk to Hemlock, and almost got killed in the process. He chuckled, and looked up at Leah, muttering thanks, his eyes lingering for a second on her bright crimson wings, And she scooted her chair in next to his. Hemlock sat down at the head of the table, clearing his throat and the plates of meat and bread were brought to the long table. hemlock turned his cold glare on Vick,

"So doctor, What business would you have in the Underlunds?" Vick moved a piece of corned beef to his plate, responding calmly,

"We have some, I suppose you could call it, urgent and pressing troubles going on at the surface." Hemlock snorted, and Belle exclaimed from her end of the table,

"Dad!" She hissed, and hemlocks look instantly softened.

"And why would you come here?" Vick looked up from his food directly at me, his eyes unreadable,

"You have heard the rumors going around of an invasion from the sister continent, I presume?" Hemlock nodded, swallowing his bite of blue potatoes,

"I have, And you have come to confirm them?" Vick nodded.

"The forests and Ice Caps to the north are being slowly torn apart. An elven messenger who escaped a massacre In the heart of the Equidje woods, as you know a very hard place to find." Hemlock leaned back in his chair, his eyebrows furrowed,

"What species have been spotted?" Vick took a bite of beef before speaking again,

"Spotted jackals of every kind, sandcrawlers and even a wormhole has been spotted tearing up the forests. They don't have much time." Hemlock looked up from his food,

"How can we help." It was more a statement that a question, but the corners of Vicks mouth twitched up the tiniest bit,

"We need the Flock to return to how things used to be before the empire rose." Hemlocks jaw tightened.

"I can't let that happen. You surely remember the rise? We can't risk the fate!" Hemlock pounded the table with his fist, making all the plates and cups rattle.

"there is no need for that." Vicks voice was icy cold, and his eyes burned.

"We have no choice. We can't let HER homeland die! You know how big the Equidje woods is!" He pointed at Sage, who looked alarmed. her emotions suddenly crashed through my mind, horror and fear blinded her.

Its okay, Vick won't let that happen. Hemlock was silent, staring straight ahead as if concentrating, before sighing and dropping his head in his hands.

"We start up the order tomorrow. You take them there, but if anything happens to My daughter..." Hemlock looked threateningly at Vick, who chuckled,

"Like anything could kill her. She just rebirth again!" Hemlock looked Up, smiling,

"Good point."

Sage and I were sitting under these awesome blue glowy trees, Talking about what Vick and Hemlock were discussing during dinner. Sage lied on her back, staring up at the trees, blue spots glowing in her eyes. She sighed and said dreamily,

"They're full of bioluminescence and a protein that's only found down here, that's why they're blue." She turned over on her side, the book on her stomach flopping down onto the dusty ground.

"reading again?" I asked her, and she rolled onto her stomach, her side brushing against my thigh.

"Yeah...this place is amazing, I wonder if the rest of this world is like this?" She rolled over onto my lap, her head resting on my thigh.

"If you keep rolling around, your going to get covered in dirt." She laughed her watery laugh, brushing her curly hair out of her eyes.

"Dirt's no problem." She said, and I leaned down, pressing my lips onto her forehead, her skin soft against my lips. She pushed me away playfully,

"No touching, Mr. Axelson." I groaned and sat up, and Sage danced away from me, leaning against a tree, the blue light dancing over the delicate bridge of her nose and in her dark green eyes.

"You're so mean to meeee!" I exclaimed, and she rolled her eyes at me,

"I know, such a meanie." I leaped up off the ground, and she squealed and ran around the tree, my fingertips barely grazing her shoulder.

"RAPERR!" she shrieked and dashed away from me. I had gotten better at warping, and could go anywhere in an instant, with a good bit of effort. I warped in front of Sage, but she tackled me, pinning me to the ground, sitting on my stomach and holding down my wrists.

"No touching Mr. Axelson." She whispered in my ear, a smile playing over her lips. I raised my head to look at her,

"You are so...that word where you say someone can't do something but you go ahead and do it." She released my wrists and sat up, still sitting on my stomach.

"you mean a hypocrite?" I rolled my eyes,

"Yeah, that." She laughed and got up off me, gently digging her combat-booted toe into my side. I pushed myself up off the dusty ground, and stood in front of Sage, looping my arms around her waist, my arms resting on her sharp hipbones, the blue lights twinkling in her eyes.

"What are you so worried about." I frowned, Sage and I could read each others minds, Like I couldn't read hers anyway...but she could read mine in return.

"I'm not worried." I said in monotone, and she smirked at me,

"Something about what's happening in those woods Vick mentioned?" She said, toying with my necklace, the blue ring in the middle of the onyx stone glowing vibrantly every time she touched it.

"Yeah...What could be there." Sages skin quivered the tiniest bit under my hand, and I rested my head on her forehead,

"Why is it my homeland? What connection could I possibly have with some woods with a name that I can't even pronounce?" She buried her head under my neck and sighed.

"I want to stop running, I want to go home. Grow old, never cheat death again. I just want everything to be okay." She sniffled, and her hot tears wet my shirt. I wrapped my other arm over her shoulders, holding her closer to me.

I disagreed with her, through. I never wanted to stop moving, change everything around me as long as I could, a new place everyday. I loved facing death, and to my own horror, I had the same impulse that Leah had to kill impulsively and without emotion. I scared myself out of my own skin before I had learned to control my emotions.

I felt Vicks presence behind me suddenly, but his mind was still blocked. I ignored him and focused my attention back on Sage, her floral smell and the way the blue lights from the trees glinted on her fiery red hair. Vick cleared his throat behind me and I growled,

"what" at him. Leah moved through the trees behind him, making no sound but still racing through the trees towards us,

"Adam, Were leaving, Go get your bags." Her accent was angry and cold, she was probably arguing with the people who clean her room in the morning again. I nodded against Sages hair and she pulled away from me, wiping tears off her face. Vick disappeared again, but Leah remained. I interlocked Sages fingers with mine, and gently tugged her towards Leah.

"You okay Sage?" Her voice was suddenly soft, and Sage nodded, smiling softly, her eyes still red. Leah smiled over her shoulder at Sage before opening her dark red and gold wings and shooting up into the air, leaving a faint boom behind her. I tugged on Sages hand again and she shuffled after me, mumbling under her breath,

"I still don't want to go." she whined under her breath. I chuckled and squeezed her hand. "Don't whine Sage, it makes you sound whiny, And Anyways, I bet were going somewhere Beautiful."


	50. Above ground

Chapter 50- Leah P.O.V.

We had been walking up these same stairs for a good hour to get back to the entrance of the door we came in, getting dirty glances from the guards who stood at the stairs with their ebony spears gleaming in their fists.

I cursed and I tripped on the thousandth stair that I had stepped up, letting Drew Put a hand on my shoulder and pull me up. I smiled grimly up at him, and he wrapped a muscled arm over my shoulders and sideways-hugged me. I went back to stare at Clouds haunches and she bounced up the stairs with Belle bouncing in the black and silver studded saddle, her neck arched and tail held high with pride in her rider.

I huffed and adjusted the straps on my backpack, We were headed, without Vick, the only non-flock member who I put my full trust in right now.

He had left early this morning with the clothes that the Underlunds had provided us with to watch over us from a different panorama than we knew. That pissed me off, I hate when people don't tell me what's going on. I kicked the next step and ignored the painful throbbing in my big toe.

Drew shot an aggravated sideways glance at me,

"You're going to break your toes off." I shrugged and stuffed my hands into the pockets of my black jeans. Belle and cloud disappeared in the hole in the rocky wall ahead of us. I adjusted the straps of my backpack on my shoulders, and jogged up the rest of the stairs, leaving the rest of my flock and the guides behind. I ran up next to Belle, Who smiled down at me,

"You're happy to leave aren't you?" I nodded and huffed,

"They just can't seem to move fast enough for me." Belle laughed,

"It's going to be nice to see the sky again." I nodded, and kicked at a rock, making Cloud jump and snort at me, I stuck my tongue out like a three year old at her. The pinpoints of light appeared in the distance, and I hopped and ran towards it, pushing open the huge doors, letting the bright sunlight was over my vitamin D-starved skin. I inhaled the dry desert air, which wasn't exactly fresh, but wasn't bad compared to the Underlunds.

I extended my wings, my thick muscles extending after being crammed against my back protested, but I raised them anyway, lifting off the dusty ground in one powerful flap, each downstroke pushing me farther into the huge blue sky. I heard Kyle and Sage cheer below me, and the sound of Adam, Drew, Sage, and Kyles wings hit the air. We circled around in the clouds, spinning and tackling each other.

I snuck up behind Adam and flew silently over him, before flopping down onto his back, making him fly with me laughing hysterically on his back before he barrel rolled, dumping me off in the sky.

I gathered breath-fulls of the air, Exhaling slowly. I looked down, my flock was gathered around the guides that Vic had told us to take with us, and Belle. I swooped down out of the sky, my crimson and gold wings folded neatly at my sides. I landed gracefully next to Drew, and Kyle rolled his eyes and muttered,

"Show off..." under his breath so the guides couldn't hear him. I jammed my elbow into his side, and received dirty looks from the oldest looking of the guides. I resisted flipping him off with all of my being. Belle broke the tension when Cloud arched her neck and snorted, pawing at the soft dirt beneath her feet.

"So...Where are we going?" She chirped, and the oldest of the guides cleared his throat regally and stepped forward, Unrolling his map.

"We start going South towards the Cylons, camp at the sea for a few days, and then continue west towards the twin seas, Crossing between them to find the Equidje Capital, Kaler." Kyle's eyes bugged at the sound of stopping near the Cylons, and Sage was obviously excited to be going to her capitol.

"Are going to go up to the Ceylon's?" He asked eagerly, and the only female guide looked at him like he was crazy, and the oldest exclaimed,

"We don't even know for shure where the Cylons are anymore, or if their civilization still exists, they broke off from the allies when Narcissia was killed." Kyle looked down at his feet, obviously disappointed. The guide rolled up his stupid map and stuffed it into his pack, rubbing his hands awkwardly.

"Alright, south." He started walking south and Belle rolled her eyes and squeezed Clouds sides. Kyle shuffled up next to me, and whispered,

"your still going to find the mountains, aren't you?" he asked, so quietly that no one else could hear us, I smiled at him,

"You think those guides could stop us?" Kyle smiled and walked away from me towards Drew. I toyed with the red feather on one of the arrows in the sheath to on my hip, I still had so many questions to ask Vick, But right when he came, and I had the chance to ask him, he leaves again. Jerk.

I looked up at the sky between the huge pillars of stone, the blue sky free of clouds, the wind shrieking as it tore through the twisting pillars. I looked forward and watched as the older guide pulled out the map that he had, and swirling blue ans silver clouds were swirling over the desert towards us. If your thinking what I'm thinking, i'm thinking is WHY THE HECK CAN THAT MAP MOVE?

Adam's presence shifted in my head, he was ahead of me standing next to the guide,

The map shows Xyris as well as the weather and tides and stuff. Its like T.V. I nodded to myself and shifted my attention back down to the dirt. I guess that made sense, considering that one month ago we were magically transported into a whole other dimension that We were unaware of its existence, I guess that made the map not so weird.

The cold dry whipped through my loose hair, lifting it up off my back and swirling around my face. I brushed it away, I looked forward at The back of Drew's head, his shaggy dark brown hair hanging down the back of his neck, I took a swift step to stand next to him, reaching out to hold his hand, feel his warmth that now complimented my own, when a sharp pang ran through my skull. I withdrew my hand, and the pain subsided.

I huffed and my moms voice echoed angrily through my ears.

"I thought I told you to stay away from him!" She shrieked, and I crossed my arms over my chest, she was ruining my already not good day.

"Fuck off." I hissed back at her in my head, and she sighed.

"That use of language is not necessary." She said in a haughty voice. I rolled my eyes and replied,

"Aren't mothers supposed to be nice and encouraging? Belles dad is perfectly nice to her and accepts her and praises her! why can't you be like that?" I snarled back at her, And she laughed shrilly, her words beginning to blend together. I shook her out all together, and looked forward at Belle looking back at me, her Left eye no longer hazel, but a pale shade of silver. She smiled at me, and mouthed,

"Your welcome." At me, and I grinned at her, And whispered,

"Thank you." Back at her, and she smiled and looked forward again. I sighed, and reached forward for Drew's hand, and he looked down at me, wrapping a protective arm around me, his smell fresh against the dry desert air. He drew his arm over my back, drawing his hand down the inside of my arm, before interlocking his fingers with mine. But my mother's words still echoed through my head,

"I told you too stay away!"


	51. City In the Sky Zelda Nerd bwahaha

Chapter 51- Leah P.O.V.

We walked to the edge of the Niobe, the huge pillars thinning out and becoming shorter, until they disappeared and tall, thick, brown and green grass poked up between the rocks. The roar of the wind died away, and only a faint and gentle breeze swept over the grass, making it rustle. I sighed, letting my lungs fill with the moist air, drinking it in like soup. The guides ahead of us veered off to the west, and we followed them, Cloud snatching mouthfuls of the thick grass. Slowly, after about three hours of walking west, the roar of what could only be a huge body of water ahead of us. Kyle perked as soon as the water was in view, and Belle tugged on the sleeve of the oldest guide, and he looked up at her,

"What is that one called?" She asked, pointing towards the water.

"The Fluviatile, a freshwater ocean. Kind of a pain to say." Belle laughed and straightened back up on Clouds back. I looked up into the sky, now turning amber and pink, wanting to fly up into it, but walking for a day and a half is just as (or more) tiring than flying. When we were about five hundred feet from the roaring shore, when the guides dumped their huge backpacks in the sand, and pulled out tent poles and things that they put over the poles, they're called tarps or something. The smallest guide, handed me and Kyle buckets, and Roughly told us to go get water.

I glared at her and snatched the bucket from her, Kyle following me down to the water. I rolled up my pants and left my moccasins and wool socks in the sand, and waded into the, surprisingly warm water. I dragged the bucket into the water and scooped it up.

"What do you see in the sky Kyle?" I asked, and shielded my eyes while I looked up through the clouds.

"Nothing." He said sadly. and I bumped him with my shoulder.

"We'll find it, I promise." He smiled at me, sadness still in his eyes. He dipped his bucket in the water, and drew it back out, but before he could turn, I smiled evilly down at my bucket, and hurled the water in the bucket at him, and he yelled and the water ran down his blue-black hair, and his tee shirt stuck to him.

He looked up at me with a look of pure annoyance, and threw his water at me, and it hit me with so much force that I fell backwards in the water. I shrieked and charged at Kyle, trying to tackle him down in the water, but he ducked and swept my feet out from under me, and I fell over his foot into the water behind him, laughing.

"Kyle you buttmuncher!" I yelled, and he laughed harder, doubling over, and the rest of the flock, Including Belle, ran towards us, Sage spinning with her arms held out. Belle splashed into the water and tackled Kyle, not even bothering to roll up her pale blue jeans. She surfaced, sitting chest deep in the water, and spat water out of her mouth, her blonde fringe hanging down her forehead,

"it's warm!" She said with wonder, before Sage pushed her head back under the water. Adam pushed Sage over, and she shrieked as she splashed into the water next to Belle. Kyle surfaced, and waded farther away from us, Drew splashing away after him. I raised my wings, and clumsy rose up into the sky, and dove back down to glide over the water. I looked down at the shaky gold and red colors of my wings in the water. I dragged my fingertips in the water, the waves lapping at my arms, and spotted Kyle and Drew ahead of me. I folded my wings and shot down under the water.

My eyes focused, and the deep water was clear, but revealed nothing. I swam towards Drew and Kyle swimming on the surface, but Drew arched his back and swam down straight towards me, His eyes glimmering black under the water. He took my hand and dragged me back up toward the surface of the water, but a purple streak in the water behind me made me wheel around, ripping my arm from Drew grip. I looked around in the water, but there was no sign of anything purple in the water.

I looked back up at Drew, and swam past him, surfacing, and deeply inhaling. Drew surfaced next to me, shaking out his wet hair, The droplets hitting my face. I laughed and kicked away from him, but he swam after me, His mouth and nose submerged in the water, an evil glitter in his eyes. I spat water at him, and he dunked his head out of the water.

"That was gross." He said, wiping the water out of his eyes. I smirked, toying with the blue stone on the leather tie lying on his bare chest.

"I'm not gross." I said, looking up at him, but he just wrinkled his nose at me, The purple thing flashed behind him, and was gone in a second. Drew whirled to where I was looking,

"What the hell are you looking at?" he said, seeing the ripples where the thing had almost surfaced. he started backpedaling back towards the shore,

"Whatever that is you saw, Its still down there." he said, and I saw the blackish blob below the surface of the water a good distance below us.

"Lets go back." he said, tugging on my shirt. I swam after him, but not before stealing another glance back at the blob in the water. We swam until we came to a sandbar, where the water came up to Drew's shoulders, but I was still too short to stand.

"What was it Drew?" I asked, and he shrugged.

"Your hair looks pretty. Kinda floaty in the water." I rolled my eyes,

"Way to change the subject." he looked rejected,

"But is does!" he exclaimed, and I rolled my eyes, While Drew pulled me close to him in the water, pulling me up toward his chest in the water. I looked up at his eyes, his pupils invisible in his black irises. I put one hand on the back of his head, and he pulled my lips to his, his hands entangling in my wet hair, his other hand tracing the bones in my cheek. I smiled against his lips, and he turned his head to the side, returning my smile as the sun set behind his head.

I stared up at the top of the burlap tent, Belle lying silently awake next to me, but twitching with excitement at the prospect of breaking the rules again. The sun had gone down hours ago, and the guides were still talking with their lanterns burning in their tent. I sat up, pushing the thick wool blanket off me, adjusting my sweatpants and tee-shirt, and crawled over my wet clothes to the entrance of the tent, untying the flap.

"Adam? You didn't fall back asleep did you?" I asked, and he replied instantly,

"No, But Sage did. Should we wake her up?" He asked, and Belle, pushed her blankets back silently behind me, but becoming still when she was, my guess, Seeing if Kyle was waking up.

"She would kill us if we left without her, try to keep her quiet." I said, and popped my head out of the tent, watching Kyle and drew slip soundlessly down toward the lake, Kyles white wings glowing against the dark night, the sound of the wavs in the distance muffling whatever sounds their footsteps may have been making. I saw a flash of curly red hair dart past the guides tent, and down towards the water, Adam no doubt with Sage, but I just didn't see him.

"Belle." I whispered behind me, and she crouched behind me, ready to take off toward the water. When the guides began to talk again we sprinted as fast as we could past their tent, that was until I caught my foot on the strap of a backpack and I feel of my face in the sand with an,

"Oof!" The talking in the guides tent stopped, and Belles footsteps were loud and clear as she sprinted down towards the beach ahead of me. They shouted and pushed through the door of the tent, each of them carrying a crossbow.

"Run!" I heard Sage scream and I turned and scrambled up out of the sand, spitting it out of my mouth as I ran toward the roar of the water. I heard an arrow whiz by my head, and I ducked, screaming up to my flock,

"Fly!" I saw Sages snowy white wings against the sky, and the colors of the rest of my flocks wings almost seem to glow in the moonlight. I leaped off the ground, spreading my red-gold wings, unhinging my shoulder blades, and shot up into the sky with one flap. The guides screamed up at us, and began shooting arrows up into the sky,

"Scatter!" I shouted, and we all veered off in different directions, until we disappeared in the thick grey clouds. I surfaced through the clouds, the thick grey mist streaming off my wings, quite chilling in the dead of night, In case you're wondering. Kyle surfaced through the clouds next to me, and looked around in the moonlight.

"Do you see anything?" Belle piped from the far end of the cloud. He shook his head, and rolled over me to fly next to her. I faced forward, and a huge blackish blob was overtaking the horizon,

"Kyle!" I yelled over to him, and his his bugged out at the sight of the mountains floating over the horizon. Sage gasped next to Drew as more mountains appeared over the horizon. I flew faster towards them, and they loomed closer with every downbeat. Sage flew over next to me,

"I hope the guides won't leave without us if we end up staying there for a while." She said, her curly red hair pulled up into a messy bun.

"They won't, they wouldn't dare leave Belle behind." She smiled down at the waves before us, as the mountains loomed even closer still, until we could see the thick vines and pieces of rock floating around them, the tops of the floating rocks covered in grass, ponds, and trees, some of them connected with bridges.

My eyes bugged out at every floating mountain as we flew over them, a few of them having a farm or a house, small communities connected by bridges. As we flew farther over the mountains, the farms and houses began to grow closer together, and after about twenty minutes, we were flying over a city, full of lights and people walking through the lantern lit streets. I pointed down to what looked like a huge stone house, not like the castle of the Underlunds, but it had what looked like a large center room, and several thick, square turrets handing off the corners. The east side of the house was nestled behind a grove of trees, and three tall windows must have let in light to the large center room. I pointed to the castle, and Looked over at Kyle, Who was flying close to Belle, his face white with nervousness.

We angled our wings down and flew in close to the grass, running to a standstill at the face of the Castle. I inhaled deeply, and motioned for my flock to follow me quickly, and they walked behind me as silently as we could over the thick green grass. A wooden double door, tall enough to drive a semi-truck through, let into one of the side turrets, and I crept up to it, only to find it locked.

"Sage are you wearing any hair pins?" She groaned and pulled a pin out of her bangs, which flopped over into her face, and she brushed them away hurriedly. I bent the pin into a straight line, and took one of the thinner knives out of my quiver, and jammed the blade into the lock. I picked the lock, but i'll spare you how I actually did it for all you rising villains out there.

I pushed open the door as quietly as I could and motioned my flock to run inside. They ran in past me, and I slowly closed the door right as two guards in blue robes and light chain-mail walked past the door, and stopped to talk. They started walking toward the door and I whispered to the flock,

"Go down around that corner!" I shouted, and we sprinted around a corner under a set of stairs until the guards pushed upon the door and their voices disappeared up the stairs, talking to each other in some language that I didn't know. I peered around the corner, and we walked out from under the stairs and ran up them, pushing open a stained white door, that led into the huge center room.

The ceiling was an all glass dome, and the moon and stars showed through the ceiling. The floor and pillars were white marble with vines and tiny white flowers climbing halfway up the pillars. Before the door, two winding staircases curved in a heart shape down the the white marble floor below us, and two people argued on a platform of the other side of the room, not even noticing us. The woman had dark hair and piercing blue eyes, but the other was darker, and the man she was arguing with (we only saw the back of his head) had blue-black hair. I cleared my throat and they stopped yelling, and the man turned to face us, And his eyes widened at the sight of us at the top of the stairs.

"Can we help you?" The woman asked, unfazed, and i tucked my wings tighter against my back.

"Yeah, are you, by any chance, missing a child with blue hair?" Kyle blurted, looking hopeful, and the woman stopped dead in her tracks. And she motioned for him to come closer. He ran down the stairs with Belle on his heels, and walked straight up to the woman, who inspected him closely. Her eyes became soft, and she held out her hand to motion to the man she had been arguing with. Her eyes became glassy, and she reached out a hand to Kyle, and he stood like a statue as she traced a scar that ran vertically through his eyebrow, she held a hand over her mouth and leaned on the man, tears running down her face as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. I ran down the stairs with the rest of the flock behind me, and Kyle blurted out all the information he had read in the book.

"I know you guys, you're lady Keytar and your Zerona. You lost your son three hundred years ago and you think he is dead and that's why you look so sad in the books I read. You hid the Cylons from the rest of Xyris because when the fire nation fell you had no stability with the rest of the capitals and now you're wondering who the heck we are." Tears slid down her face, and she nodded quickly, before the man, who Kyle identified as Keytar (pronounced Kay-tur. Not tahr.) Took a deep breath and spoke in a thick Albanian accent, or at least that's what it sounded like.

"We had a son, but he was taken by the leopards within the morning he was born, He wasn't even named yet..." His face was pained as he trailed off, but he looked up at me, and I hoped my wings were unseen.

"How and why did you find us?" He asked, his face serious but his eyes soft.

"I'm Leah Axelson, That's My brother Adam, Sage Kaufman, Mirabelle Stanem, Drew Everett, and Kyle Onstad." I nodded to each person as I said their name, and Sage smiled brightly and hugged the silently crying woman, who stood stock still and stared at the back of Sages head, giving Adam a look that read,

"Why the heck is this child hugging me?" He smirked and nodded, and Zerona, as Kyle clarified, patted Sage awkwardly on the back. Sage pulled away from her and bounced back to her spot next to Adam. The Keytar turned to Kyle,

"She said your last name is Onstad?" Kyle nodded, he was trying to remain calm, but his jaw was clenched.

"That name is common in Ceylon, it means farmer. Tell me, Where are you from?" Kyle replied,

"Were from the otherworld, but Belle," He wrapped his arm around Belles shoulders.

"Is the daughter of the master of shadows." Keytars eyes widened slightly, and he turned to look at Belle,

"I would never have guessed, with that hair color." He said, and she shrugged. The woman sniffed and dried her eyes.

"You know, the Cylons are like never-land, you don't find them, they find you, but only if they want to find you. Which one of you has business here?" She asked softly, and Kyle stepped forewords meekly, his blue black hair hiding his eyes.

"I'm your son."


	52. Alchemy

chapter 52- Leah P.O.V.

After a gargantuan cry fest, mostly from Kyle's parents, I was forced to shut the party down and get straight to the point. We told them that we were going to reform the "allies," whatever that meant. But apparently they took that seriously and led us into a back room, which was where I happened to be standing right now.

The walls were lined with jars filled with flowers, what looked like salts of multiple colors, red and green liquids, shelves with what appeared to be giant toes, butterflies, bugs, bones, feathers, birds and other jars, and baskets filled with sprigs of wheat and long stemmed sunflowers and giant orchids.

"What is this place?" Sage whispered, the smell of the perfumed fire from across the room gave the room and outdoors-y smell of linen on a clothes line. Oddly fresh for a small back room filled with animal and plant parts.

"An alchemy lab," Zerona replied, and Sage wandered over to the shelves,

"what is this stuff?" She asked again, and the woman Laughed,

"Ingredients. Perhaps you would be interested in learning a few tonics." She said to Sage with a smile. Sage nodded quickly back as she poked one of the giant toes with her pinky finger. Keytar pulled a jar off the top of the shelf, it was filled with tiny silver scales up to the brim, and he handed it to Kyle, and pulled down another jar, that looked like it was filled with nothing, but he handled it carefully. He walked with Kyle trailing behind him to a table with green, long necked jars and a blue fire in the middle, and set the jars on the table. He took out a spoonfull the silvery scales from the jar and sprinkled them in the fire,

"Those are ice wraith teeth." I heard Zerona whisper to Sage, so they weren't scales...weird, what the hell is an ice wraith? (AHHH SKYRIM REFERENCE) The fire sparkled like a firecracker and he quickly unscrewed the jar with nothing in it, and held it upside down over the fire, the air that was in the jar tuning a translucent blue and swirling slowly around the inside of the jar.

"What is that?" Belle whispered to Zerona behind me, And she replied quietly,

"Wind, well concentrated wind to be exact." Keytar screwed the lid back on the jar while it was still upside down, and he handed it to Kyle, and the wind moved closer to where he was touching the outside of the glass.

"What is it?" Kyle asked, and keytar smiled sadly at him,

"It's the last thing we have to offer you." He said, before turning away and muttering about the guides waiting for us back down at the beach. Kyle looked down at the jar, the blue mist swirling slowly, before settling down into the bottom of the jar. Keytar and Zerona left through the door, and smiled back at Kyle before vanishing behind the curtain.

"Well, what now?" Adam asked, and I stuffed my hands in my red sweatpants pockets. I shifted my weight away from a jar of what looked like human hearts,

"How much energy do you have?" I asked him, and he scratched the back of his head.

"More than I usually have." He said, and Belle fingered the velvety petals of a blue flower that looked like a daffodil.

"Could you warp us back?" I asked and he looked at Sage, who nodded, and took his hand. He looped his necklace off from around his neck, dropping it, but it hovered just above the ground, instead of falling.

"Who's first, Adam asked, poking the stone on the necklace with his toe, and it flipped over, the blue circle facing the ground.

"Me, I guess." Kyle said, stepping foreword. Adam nudged the black stone with his toe again, and it shot down into the floor, a spinning purple and black disk slowly expanding in the floor.

"kay Ky, whenever your ready." I said, and he stepped foreword, looking down nervously at the endless hole forming into the ground.

"Are you shure this is supposed to work, because im not shure I'm really ready to leave yet I mean WAH!" he yelled as Belle grabbed his wrist and disappeared down the hole, her cream and brown wings disappearing in the purple and black mist, some of it spilling out onto the floor of the alchemy room. I raised an eyebrow at Adam,

"It does work, right?" I asked, he laughed, and Sage rolled her eyes and dropped down into the mist. Adam motioned for me to go, and I stepped reluctantly into the mist, I mean, what if this stuff didn't work and my head ended up in china and the other part of me ended up in whatever places this thing could transport me to? I heard Adam snicker and I stuck my tongue out at him before stepping into the mist and immediately falling, my stomach leaping into my throat before I landed on my stomach on my pile of blankets in Belle's and my tent. I groaned and sat up, rolling to the side as Belle dropped down through the top of the tent, landing right where I was just sitting, her eyes wide and unwavering.

"Next time remind me that warping is not good, apparently my stomach knows gymnastics." She groaned, and rolled over onto her side, dragging a quilt with her. I heard the guides yelling at each other loudly and I smiled to myself. "I can't wait to see their faces in the morning." I whispered to Belle, who wrapped the quilt around her.

"Its gonna be hilarious, and if we act like nothing ever happened, they'd be all freaked out!" She fell into torrents of giggles and flopped back on the soft sand under the tent tarp. I shushed her through my laughter and pulled a blue patchwork quilt from the pile, and curled up under it, the guides now silent. A light showed through the burlap tent in the direction of the guides tent, before it flickered out and the only sound of the waves lapping the shore and a faint splashing in the background.


	53. mudcrab brains? Yum

Chapter 53- Leah P.O.V.

We walked through the same thin woods toward the middle of Xyris, it was our sixth day of walking and the guides still wouldn't talk to me. They would talk to anyone else in my flock, just not me. I huffed and kicked at a stick, the cold wind rustling the trees and the sun shone down though the tiny holes in the canopy of the trees. My wings ached from being pulled against my back, and I pulled them tighter against my leather jacket. Sage had hitched a ride on Cloud and Belle walked next to me, grumbling to herself how her legs felt like rubber, but whenever Sage offered to her to ride, Belle hastily declined.

"Are we there yet?" Kyle asked, for the thirtybillionth time today, and the short, angry female guide glared at him and hissed,

"If we were there, we wouldn't be walking." Kyle simply grinned at her, and she rolled her eyes and faced foreword. I kicked a pebble into the heel of the old, head guide, who turned his red, angry head back at me, his face scrunched up in a scowl,

"I you kick one more rock at me I swear."

"So were talking to me again?" I interrupted with fake excitement, jumping over a log, and he grunted and turned around again. The rough trail we were walking on began to descend, and Sage slid off Clouds back at the top of the descent,

"Kyle's turn!" She practically squealed, and ran over to a clump of bright red flowers, pulling up three of the biggest blooms, and fitting them into her belt. Adam snickered at her, and draped an arm around her neck. Kyle pulled himself up unto Clouds back, patting her neck awkwardly. Cloud snorted and pawed at the ground, and the angry-woman guide standing in front of her leaped out from in front of her, muttering,

"Snark!" Under her breath. The oldest guide began to walk down the hill, Cloud following behind him, trying to bite at his gigantic backpack with Kyle snickering on her back. Drew laughed quietly next to me, his wrist rhythmically brushing my hand, causing a blush to creep up my neck.

The path began to widen out, fresh footprints appearing in the mud on the side of the path. The sound of water hissing around rocks ahead of us. Sage dragged Adam by the wrist down towards the water, and the head guide screamed for them to stay away from the edge of the water. I rolled my eyes and ran after them, but the head guide grabbed my wrist, yanking me back. I glared at him, and Drew put a hand on his shoulder, his black eyes burning holes in the back of his bald head. Drew stood a good two inches over the guides head, and the guide cowered under his gaze, releasing my wrist. He tried to turn away, but Drew stepped in his way.

"Say your sorry." Drew said cooly, his dark eyes shooting daggers at the guide.

"Drew.."

"No lee." He cut me off. The guide turned, his red face flushed white.

"Sorry." He spat. And Drew smiled at me, his dark eyes smiling at me,

"Good, problem solved." I grinned up at him, and he took my hand and we fast-walked towards Sage and Adam, who were crouched over something. I dragged Drew over towards them, Sage pulling apart the exoskeleton of a crab the size of my head. I scrunched up my nose, sage digging around under its thick shell, scooping out what looked like...ugh.

"What part of this did she say was useful from these things?" Adam asked, looking a little sick.

"Chitin." Sage said simply, and Adam filled her water bottle in the fast-flowing river.

"Sage, Chitin in is their exoskeleton, not their brains." He said, and she looked up at him sheepishly.

"Soo...Like their claws?" She asked, opening and closing one of the crabs claws.

"Yeah. I think you boil it though, something like that." Drew said, sitting in the gritty sand next to where I was kneeling. Sage carefully sawed off the crabs claws, tucking them into her backpack just as the guides appeared at the top of the bank.

"Get out from down there! were not crossing yet." She yelled over the rush of the water, her arms crossed over her chest indignantly. Drew stood, picking up the crab and hiding behind his back as he did, shooting me a mischievous smirk. I grinned at him, and walked in front of him, shielding the guides from seeing him as he slid the crab into my dark purple backpack.

I smirked up at him, interlocking my fingers with him, walking on my tiptoes to kiss the edge of his mouth. He pulled my up the hill, his brown and white wings hanging loosely around his shoulders. Belle looked back at me and winked, and I felt a blush creep up my neck. We continued to walk through the thick woods, splotches of light fell through the gaps in the trees, The sounds of birdcalls I didn't recognize sounding from unseen birds in the canopy.

I kicked another rock, barely missing the guides foot. I frowned, dragging my feet in the damp leaves, coating the narrow, unused trail. We started walking uphill again. The shape of a deer bounding off into the woods. I saw the head guide raise a hand to hover against the trigger of his crossbow. I chuckled at his edginess, and walked foreword in front of him. The smaller, crabby guide hissed for me to get back in line, but I smirked, leaping to the side and scaling a tree as fast as I could. I dangled one leg over the branch. The tall head guide looked up at me scathingly, before looking away from me, but the crabby guide hissed and sputtered at me to get back in line or she would shoot me down from the tree.

"You shoot her, your dead." Adam said cryptically, and the guide whirled on him, her grayish brown hair flying around her face. I dropped down out of the tree, and the short, male guide grabbed my arm with more force necessary. I glared at him, but he looked away from me, I yanked my arm out of his grasp, and he cowered away from me. The short crabby guide woman was still screaming at Adam, who remained impassive, only the hate in his eyes flashing. She poked adam in the chest, obviously taking their, more like her, argument too far.

He grabbed her wrist, twisting it suddenly and violently, the sudden pop of her wrist loud and clear. She shrieked, clutching her wrist and screaming. Adams eyes widened in realization to what he had done, and Sage grabber his arm, her wings slightly extending. The guides had whipped out their crossbows, outnumbering us easily, they pointed their crossbows at us, three at me.

I nodded slightly at Belle, and she looked at Kyle who slid down off Clouds back, his wings exiting the tiniest bit, his black primaries quivering underneath the layers of snow white feathers.

"Stop moving!" The head guide sputtered, and kyle raised his arms slowly in the air. Kyle rolled his eyes, and the guide shook his crossbows at Kyle threateningly.

"Whats that Sky boy?" Kyle just chuckled, crossing his arms across his chest.

"You call that an insult? Please, never get leah mad at you, or Adam, but I guess that makes sense because they're related and they have the best comebacks you have ever heard, for example..."

"Shut up!" The guide screamed, his bald head turning red with anger. Kyle put his hands on his hips, making a pouting face, and rolling his eyes again.

"Wipe that sass off your face this. instant!" The guide shouted, and Belle chuckled, two crossbows turning to be aimed at both of her temples. She instantly turned serious, And cloud Screamed, lunging towards the guides, but her head was wrenched back by an especially burly guide.

"Oh. You. did. NOT!" She hissed, her hands balling up into fists. The guide raised a hand to the two guides, and they lowered their crossbows, and I released a breath that I didn't know I was holding. I looked around quickly for Drew, but he was nowhere to be seen.

"Oh he did." The bald guide said darkly, his ugly mouth splitting into a grin. Belle tensed visibly, probably angry about both her boyfriend with every crossbow in a fifty foot radius aimed at him, or Cloud being ripped around by a guy who was supposed to be protecting her. Belles right hand fastened around the handle of her left sword,

"I wouldn't do that Mirabelle." The guide said, his voice wavering the tiniest bit. Belle narrowed her eyes, and I slowly pulled my bow off my shoulder, pulling an arrow onto the thin string. The guide next to me squirmed anxiously, and Belle spat back.

"I almost killed my father, I command the spirits, Leah can shoot squirrels in the eyes from over a hundred feet away, and Adam can warp. Sage is ten times stronger than you, and Kyle can heal. What makes you think you are making me worried at all?" Belle narrowed her eyes, her knuckles turning white around the handle of her short sword, the head guide didn't even quake under her gaze.

"This." He said, his grin growing wider, before pulling the trigger before Kyle could duck out of the way. The arrow hissed through the air, and time stood still as the arrow sunk into Kyle's collarbone, the sickening crack of the bone as the arrow split it. The head guides face turned from a sick grin to horror as Kyle fell to his knees, his fingers wrapping around the arrow, before sliding weakly off, trying to brace himself against the ground.

"Kyle!" Belle shrieked, elbowing the two guides holding her back off, and ran to kyle. Suddenly, Drew dropped down from out of the trees, and grabbed the Guide by the throat, as belle cried out softly.

"What have you done?" She cried out to the head guide, who looked shocked, before a look of horror spread over his face. belle held out a hand to him, as if asking him to take it, before a wave of shadow coursed over her, engulfing the guide. Drew leaped away, recoiling as if being burned.

The guide froze, his skin shimmering and turning purple, the shadows becoming almost human, before melting away to take another human form, their shrieks and groans inhuman and warped, sounding far away, yet melodious at the same time. Belle lowered her hand, and the shadows shot back through the ground, the body of the guide falling with them as they retreated to the inside of the earth, the lifeless body falling to the ground.

"What was that Belle." Adam asked, warily, as Belle helped Kyle, with the arrow still lodged in his chest, to stand up. Belle motioned Sage over, and she darted across the trail to where Belle was standing next to Kyle, and the guides slowly inched away from her, whispering quietly to themselves. Sage looked over the arrow wound, ripping the hole in Kyle's shirt so she could see the wound. I rushed to Kyle, Drew and Adam right behind me. Sage fingered the arrow, the skin around the wound turning red with irritation.

"Im gonna pull this out, Okay Kyle?" Sage asked softly, before quickly ripping the arrow out of Kyle's shoulder, not ripping any more skin. Kyle hissed a breath, before Sage pressed the heel of her hand over the wound.

"That hurt more than I expected." Kyle said blandly, his eyes closed, now leaning back on Belle. One of the younger guides, a girl who looked about sixteen, only a year younger than be, but way shorter with ashy brown hair tapped my shoulder. I looked up at her, probably more scared of her than she was of me.

"This might help." She said In a tiny voice, pushing three rolls of grayish gauze in my hands. This wasn't the type you get at stores, perfectly organized perfect white rolls. This looked like it had been used before, but washed a ton of times. I grinned up at the girl,

"Thank you." I told her, and she blushed, nodding her head, and shuffling backward into the clump of guides. I handed the bandage to Sage who removed her hand and pressed the bandage over the hole in his shoulder. She wide her bloody hand off on her jeans and wrapped the rest of the bandage under Kyle's armpit. Sage helped Kyle stand up, and Belle clicked through her teeth, And Cloud came trotting over to her. Sage gave Kyle a leg up into the saddle, and he looked like he was going to puke.

"Kyle, do you want to keep going or stay here." Kyle instantly straightened up, his fist closing around a handful of Clouds mane.

"Im fine. lets go find us a lost city." He said with flat enthusiasm, and tapped Cloud in the sides with his heels, and she stepped daintily foreword, Following right after Belle down the overgrown trail. I speed walked over across the trail to Adam, and bumped my shoulder into his arm.

"So...how do we know where we're going?" Adam shrugged.

"If we follow the trail, I guess we'll end up wherever this damn trail ends." Adam said, kicking a stick, which hit belle in the back of her skirt, making her whirl and glare, While dusting off the invisible dirt particles off the back of her cotton overskirt.

"Adam! New dress!" Adam smirked and muttered to me,

"Just like all the dresses she has now." I smirked, but covered it up as Belle turned and began walking backwards facing Adam, her arms crossed across her chest.

"I heard that, And my dress is just as new as your shirt, haircut, socks, and feminine leather pants." She said, raising her eyebrows and smirking triumphantly. Adam laughed and rolled his eyes as she smiled and spun to face foreword, reaching out to the side to scratch Cloud behind the ears.


End file.
